Blonde Hair
by beautifulmind
Summary: Sometimes you can tell just by looking. How it all began and how the past reflects the future? 4th HokagexOCXNaruto.
1. Chapter 1

The timeline of this fanfic is after the death of The Third and before Naruto traveled with Jiraiya.

CHAPTER 1 : How It All Began.

Group 7 was on their way home after finishing the mission. Everyone was feeling very happy especially Naruto since he had done a heroic act back at the village. Naruto was whistling happy tunes. At first, everyone enjoyed his whistles but after a few hours, it started to get on their nerve. Naruto however didn't realize he was annoying his group member and his teacher with his whistling.

Sakura was the first one who burst. " Stop it already! Naruto! You're getting on my nerve," Sakura yelled at Naruto. " Huh? What, Sakura-chan? What did I do," Naruto asked innocently. Sakura tighten her punch. Naruto saw it and got afraid but he doesn't know what was wrong with Sakura. " Your whistle. It's killing her and all of us," Sasuke told the confused Naruto. Kakashi nodded his agreement. Naruto sighed. " Okay.. okay… I'll stop." Sakura calmed down. They continued their journey back to Konoha Village. Naruto can't wait to tell Konohamaru what he had done at the Waterfall Village. The village was about 5 kilometres from their whereabouts when suddenly, Kakashi halted. Narotu who was walking behind him bumped into him. Naruto was mumbling about how Kakashi stop abruptly. Kakashi made no reply. His face was serous. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke knew something was wrong when they saw Kakashi's serious face.

Kakashi looked around. He strained his senses to detect and confirm what he heard just now. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were on their guard. They looked around for ambush or enemies. Finally, a shadow emerged from the bushes 5 meters in front of them. It was a female ninja. Behind her was three other ninja. The ninjas were on her tail. The female ninja looked very weak. Her attire were torn apart and her face was dirty with dust and blood. Kakashi gasped. His gasp was loud enough to catch his students's attention. " It can't be her….," Kakashi muttered. The female ninja looked at the group way. She had the same surprise look on her face when she saw Kakashi. She looked behind her. The ninja were still following her. She was too tired to run so she decided to stop and face the pursuers.

Naruto saw the female ninja stopped in the middle of the road. Three others ninja surrounded her. They were in for a battle. Kakashi was still stunned. " Kakashi-sensei…. Are you alright? Do you know her," Sakura asked with concern. Kakashi recovered his composure. His mind was spinning around for the next act. ' If I were alone, I'll definitely help her but now I'm with my students. Helping her meaning putting their life in jeopardy. Furthermore, the three ninjas are surely well-trained assassins.'

The fight had started. The three ninjas attacked at the same time, leaving the female ninja no room for counter-attack. She could only dodged and avoided the ninja's attack. Things didn't look good for her. Naruto watched the fight with anxiety. His punch was tight. He wanted to help the female ninja but he could not determine who was the good guy and the bad guy. " Don't let your guard down. They maybe fighting the female ninja but they might be coming for us," Kakashi warned his students. Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke nodded.

The female ninja managed to build up an amount of chakura and focused it on her palm. Kakashi was surprised again. " Chidori…..," he blurted. His students looked up to him. " What did you said, Kakashi-sensei? Naruto asked. He was sure it's the name of the jutsu the female ninja used. Kakashi looked at his students and explained, " The jutsu she's using is chidori. Focusing your chakura at one place, in this case: the palm. The light that emit from her palm is her chakura.It's a very difficult to perform especially when you're moving. You need focus and a lot of practice to be able to pull out the jutsu. She sure had a lot of it judging by the way she handle it."

The female ninja hit one of the ninja with her palm. The force of the hit threw the ninja into the bushes. The ninja never came out, signifying death or lost of conscious.

The chakura from the female ninja's hand disappeared. She was breathing heavily. The remaining two ninja gave her no chance. They kept attacking her. They had only one mission : kill her. The female ninja dodged but when she attacked, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto recognized the taijutsu. It's Jyuken : the one used by the Hyuuga Clan. They remembered the taijutsu from the chuunin exam. It was the taijutsu used by Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji. After a few attack from the female ninja, the pursuing ninja left an open space. The female ninja took the chance and hit her opponent direct at his heart. That caused him to fall down to the ground: dead.

The final fight was between the female ninja and one of the pursuers. They were facing each other. " Why don't you go back to your village and tell them you lost me. They won't blame you. They know how strong I am…," the female ninja spoke for the first time. Her voice was steady although her breathing was not. The other ninja grunted a protest. " I'm giving you a chance to live. It's up to you to choose..," the female ninja continued.

The pursuer ninja replied with a kunai thrown to the female ninja. She dodged it easily. " Fine… Suit yourself..," she said and reached into her pocket. With lightning speed, she threw kunai and shuriken towards the pursuer ninja. He was too slow when he dodged the attack and the kunai and shuriken hit him. He was bleeding but still standing. He knew he had no chance. Then, he saw his way out.

Kakashi saw the look on the ninja's face. He knew what he was thinking. He was going to use the children to escape. Kakashi lurched forward to protect his student but he was unable to move. ' Damn it! Kanshibari no Jutsu! ( Body Freeze Skill).' " Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke! Be prepare! He's coming for you guys," Kakashi yelled from his position. " Huh?." Kakashi was right. In just a second, the ninja was already in front of Sakura. Sakura was too afraid to move. They tried to get to the frozen Sakura. But they knew they couldn't compete his speed. ' Please… someone… save Sakura,' Naruto prayed in his heart. He could only look the ninja raised his kunai while he was running towards Sakura. The next thing he saw was splashes of blood. And more blood…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 : Blood

Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke was stunned. The ninja raised his kunai and attack. The impact resulted blood splash but it wasn't Sakura's blood. It was the female ninja's blood. She stood between the ninja and Sakura and the kunai hit her shoulder. The ninja took a few steps backward. " You acted as I expected," the ninja laughed. The laugh stopped. A shuriken was thrown to his forehead and he fall to the ground.

Kakashi was freed from the jutsu. The female ninja fall to her knees. She pulled the kunai from her shoulder More blood splashed from the wound. She observed the kunai. " Great! Poison kunai….," she muttered. She stood up but still staggering on her feet. She was about to fall down when Kakashi grabbed her waist and help her to stand. " Thought you already forget about me, Kakashi." Kakashi smiled, " How can I ever forget you!." Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura was dumb-founded. Kakashi-sensei knew the female ninja. " We need to get back to the village as soon as possible," the female ninja told Kakashi. " Why? There's still more," Kakashi asked. The female ninja nodded.

Before she could explain, they could feel that more ninjas were coming. A dozen of them. Everyone noticed it. Without saying anything, the female ninja made a hand gesture. " KAGE TSUBASA NO JUTSU!." All of them never heard of that name. In seconds, a azure-colored wing emerged from each of their back. " What the…?." The next thing they knew, they were flying in the sky with amazing speed. Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. No one said anything. " Cool," Naruto shouted. The speed reminded him of a falcon diving for its prey. Kakashi was impressed by her jutsu. He looked at her. He can tell that she was forcing herself to do the jutsu. Her face was grimacing from the pain. Beads of sweats formed on her forehead and face. Kakashi knew she could not hold it much longer.

Konoho Village was in front of them. Kakashi sighed a relief. Their journey will end soon. They began to slow down. They stopped at the stone memorial. The female ninja dropped them on the ground carefully, one by one. Finally, everyone was on the ground except for her. The female ninja was out of chakura. She fainted while she was on the air. The azure wing disappeared from her back and she was falling to the ground. Kakashi acted. He jumped up and caught her on air before landing smoothly on the ground.

" You guys go back and reported the mission. I'm going to send her to the hospital," Kakashi ordered. " Kakashi-sensei? Is she a Konoha ninja? Is that why you know her," Sakura asked Kakashi. Naruto and Sasuke looked at the jounin. Kakashi stood up, nodded and disappeared with a cloud of smoke. Sakura and the others were left in confusion. They headed towards the office to report their mission. On the way, they discussed about the female ninja and asked questions about her among each other but no one can come up with an answer.

At the office, they met Iruka. Sasuke gave him their mission report to Iruka who was writing it. Naruto asked, " Should the report included we found a wounded ninja?." Iruka raised his head. " You what," Iruka wanted confirmation. Sakura told him everything that happened. Iruka listened and nodded. " You say Kakashi knew her?." The three of them nodded." She might be our ninja. What does she looks like?." Naruto answers, " She's beautiful. Long blond hair tied in ponytail. Blue eyes." Iruka shook his head. " Doesn't ring a bell…" Sakura added the detail, " She had a mole under her right eye and a tattoo of the word 'tenshi (angel) at the left part of her neck." Iruka's eyes rounded like balls. He got up from his seat. " What? Are you sure? It can't be her," Iruka asked in high pitch. Sakura nodded. " What she saw is correct," Sasuke supported Sakura's information.

Iruka sat back on his chair while shaking his head. " No, it can't be her. It can't," he mumbled to himself. " What's wrong Iruka-sensei? You know her too," Naruto asked as he approached Iruka's table. " I did…" " Did? What do you mean by that," Sakura asked. " She was supposed to be dead. I saw her body myself. How could she still be alive after all this years?." Iruka was lost in his thoughts. None of the chuunin spoke anything. Suddenly, Iruka jerked his head up, like he remembered something important. Then he looked at Naruto for a very long time. " What is it Iruka-sensei? Why are you looking at me like that," Naruto asked nervously. Iruka sighed. " Does the Godaime know about this," Iruka asked Sakura. Sakura shooked her head. Iruka nodded and ordered, " You can go back now. I'm going to see the Godaime. Said nothing to anyone about this,ok?." With that he disappeared with puff of smokes. They looked at each other, shrugged and started to walk home.

None of them said anything. They arrived at the junction where they will separated. " I got a suggestion. Why don't we go to the hospital and check on the female ninja. I can't get her off my head," Naruto suggested. Sakura looked at him, thought for a while before saying, " I think we better visit her tomorrow. She might still be in the ER. She was wounded pretty badly." Sasuke said nothing but he nodded his agreement. Naruto smiled," OK! We'll visit her tomorrow. We'll meet here tomorrow morning!."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 : The Pieces of the Past.

That night, Naruto was restless. He can't get his mind of that female ninja nd Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei's reaction to her. ' It's obvious both of them know…knew her. And why did Iruka-sensei looked at me like that? Is she got something to do with me? Maybe so.. We'll find out tomorrow. Naruto slept soundly with hope that everything will be solved in the morning.

The next morning, they gathered as planned. Like yesterday, no one said nothing on the way to the hospital. " You guys know something? I was thinking last night and I realized the female ninja, she saved my life. If it wasn't for her, I might be the one stabbed by the poison kunai. And I might dided since I'm not as strong as her. She was able to pull out a high-level jutsu even in her wounded state. She has amazing stamina, amounat of chakura and will-power, right Naruto?." Naruto nodded. " She knew how to use Chidori and Jyuken. And she looked like a pro at it. She must be a powerful jounin," Sasuke commented. Sakura and Naruto nodded. Their conversation stopped when they reached the hospital compound. Sakura went to the caunter and asked for the female ninja's room while Naruto and Sasuke waited at the lounge. Sakura came towards them after a few minutes. " She's in Room 101. Her visitors are limited. Fortunately, no one is in right now. We can go visit her," Sakura explained.

They were walking down the corridor. The room they headed were about 10 meters away. " Hey, guys! Check it out," Naruto exclaimed. Sakura and Sasuke looked in front of them. At the door of Room 101 stood two Anbu. " Anbu? What are they doing here," Sakura muttered. They were stopped before entering the room. After Sakura told them their intention of visiting the female ninja and how they knew her, the Anbu let them in but told them they only got 10 minutes. Before they entered the room, Sakura asked the Anbu, " May I know what's her name?." The Anbu didn't say anything but at last he blurted, " Aoi-sama!." " Aoi…sama," the three of them were shocked. Who is she? She must be someone of high ranked cause even the Anbu called her 'sama'. They pushed aside their surprise and decided to asked Kakashi later.

Sakura entered the room first followed by Naruto and Sasuke. The room was quite big but it was blant. There was a bed, a table and an empty vase on it. They saw the female ninja was looking out the window. Her blonde hair was released and it reached her thigh. A few of strands of her hair fluttered when the soft wind blows. The three of them knew she noticed their entrance but she didn't turned around. Sakura greeted the female ninja. She turned around. Her hair followed her movement. It swayed gently and landed on her back. She gave them a warm smile. " Good morning, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto…" The female ninja's shoulder was bandaged and her arm rested on a sling. There were small cuts and bruises at her arm. She also had a cut on her forehead. Despite her injury, she still managed to smile and emit warmth.

She looked at them one by one as she invited them to sit down. Her gaze fell on Naruto. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He really reminded her of him. Naruto noticed her stare but he took no notice. She smiled again. " So, what brings you guys here?." " Well… we came to see how you're doing and … I came to thank you… for saving my life. If it hadn't been for you, I might already died…," Sakura explained. She didn't dare to look her in the eye. The female ninja didn't respond for a while but then she smiled. " It's ok, Sakura. It was nothing. It is my responsibility to protect my collegues." Sakura nodded. Silence fell into the room.." You're a Konoha ninja,right? Why haven't we noticed you before? And who Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei were so shocked to see you again," Naruto broke the silence.

The female ninja was a little surprised but she recovered and smiled to Naruto. " I am a Konoha ninja. I went out for a mission about 12 years ago and never came back since so I was presumed dead. And some of them found a body that resembles me.That's why people are surprised to see me. Kakashi and Iruka knew me from back then," she answered calmly. Naruto nodded. " Anything else on your mind.?" Naruto shooked his head. " Aoi-sama….," Sakura called. Her face changed. " Why are you calling me 'sama', Sakura.?" " The Anbu outside told us that's your name. Is it wrong to call you that?." She sighed. " No, it's not wrong really.. it's just that I haven't heard anyone called me like that for a very long time. So, I'm not really used to that."

Sakura nodded. Aoi-sama was staring outside the window when suddenly, " Naruto, you really look like someone I used to know." Naruto was a little surprised. " Yeah," Naruto replied nervously. Aoi-sama nodded slowly. There was sadness in her eyes. Naruto saw the sadness so he said nothing further. Sasuke reminded them it was time to meet Kakashi for their mission. They excused themselves. Before going out the door, Aoi-sama told them to send her regards to Kakashi. They just nodded. When they went outside, they were surprised .The quantity of Anbu that were guarding Aoi-sama had multiply. Now, there were five of them. ' She must be someone really important.'


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 : The Puzzle.

Aoi was sitting at the edge of her bed. " I have to get out of here," she muttered to herself. With that, she climbed out the window and disappered into the forest.

The Anbu outside Aoi's room was getting agitated. " Where are the Village Counsellors? They should be here by now." The Village Counsellors had set up a meeting upon Aoi's return and will announce the result to her at this time. But the Village Counsellors were nowhere to be seen. After a few hours late than scheduled, they arrived. The Anbu team was relieved. One of them opened the door, " Aoi-sama, the Village Counselors is…." He stopped when he saw the empty room. " Aoi-sama is gone," he cried to his teammates. All of them were shocked. " Quickly and quietly, go find her," the Village Counsellors commanded. The Anbu team nodded and was gone within seconds.

Aoi was standing at the edge of a cliff next to the waterfall. She sighed. " This was the place where we first met," she muttered to herself and looked at her right hand. She was wearing a ring. It was made from platinum and had a small round stone. The color of the stone was a mix of blue and red, in ying and yang shape. She gently caressed the ring. " How I miss you after all these years…"

Naruto was still practicing in the forest. Their training had ended hours ago but Naruto continued with his own training. I must be strong in order to achieve my dreams. Naruto threw the last shuriken to the target and it hit the center. " Bulls Eye," Naruto cried and fell to the ground. " I used all of my chakura. Now I have to rest for a while before regaining my strength."

Aoi was walking through the forest guided by the moonlight when he saw someone was lying in the middle of her path. Aoi quicken her pace towards the person lying on the ground. When she got closer, she realized she recognized the face. " Naruto-kun?."

The Village Counsellors were agitated in their room. They were waiting for the search team that went out looking for Aoi. Kakashi and Ibiki watch them silently. " Maybe it's time you tell her the truth. Everyone knows about it except her," Ibiki suggested to the counselor. The counselor stopped walking. " No! That's out of question. Difficult things would arise if she knows." " But difficult things had already arise now when she still don't know," Kakashi muttered but loud enough to be heard by the counselor. The counselor sighed. " I've promised The Third and The Fourth that the secrets would be left unknown by Aoi." Kakashi and Ibiki looked at each other and said nothing.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly. He saw that he was in a room. The ceiling was painted soft blue and so does the room. He sat up straight and cleared his eyes. He could see the room more clearly now. He was sitting on a bed. The room looked very cheerful with simple decorations. After Naruto got up from the bed, he heard a voice, a hum from outside the room. He followed the hum that led him to the kitchen where his nose picked up a delicious and mouth-watering aroma. Naruto drooled. " This smell even nicer than the Ichiraku ramen…," he whispered. A head popped out from the kitchen. Naruto was totally surprised to see her. She smiled to him, smiled 'her' smile to him. " You….."

Kakashi jumped from one roof to the other. He wasn't in any hurry although he was supposed to be. The counselor had commanded him to look for Aoi. " Aoi-sama…Where are you? Do everyone a favor and come back…..," he muttered. Then, the though hit him. He hit his forehead with his palm. " Why didn't I think of it earlier? She must be at her home!."

Aoi pouted her mouth. " What? Why are you so surprised to see me in my own house," Aoi asked as she walked closer to Naruto. Naruto was flabbergasted. " I don't remember how did I get here," Naruto asked nervously. ' I'm in her house. She's a big-ranked person in this village. I'm in her house!.' Naruto stuttered, " No matter how I got here, I have to go now…" Aoi let him past by her before saying, " I'm the one who brought you here. I don't mind if you would like to stay for dinner." Naruto's mind raced. " No, thanks…." That was when his stomach betrayed him and made a very loud noise. Aoi laughed and said, " You better go after dinner." Naruto nodded in embarrassment.

Naruto stared at the food on the table. There were many delicious delicacies in front of him. His stomach growled ferociously but he kept his manner. Only when Aoi invited him to eat, he started to eat. He can see that Aoi was eating too but her mind seemed to drift elsewhere. Naruto put down his chopstick. Aoi realized this and asked, " What's wrong Naruto-kun?." Naruto pondered for a while. ' How am I going to ask her?.' " Aoi-sama…," Naruto started. " Why is everyone seemed so busy when they knew you were back here?."

Aoi said nothing for a while. "It's kinda a sad story. Why don't we talk about after dinner," Aoi suggested. Naruto nodded. "Itadakimasu," Aoi said followed by Naruto. They enjoyed the dinner together and Naruto told her what had happened to the village when Aoi was gone. Aoi was mostly shocked. " Lots of things had happened, ne," Aoi whispered. " And I miss everything, the happy part and the sad part too…"

Naruto helped Aoi cleaned up the table when they finished eating. Aoi washed the dishes and Naruto helped her dried it. After they finished with the dishes, Naruto walked to the living room and sat there. Aoi brought ice cream for both of them. Naruto grinned when he saw the ice cream. Aoi saw this and chuckled. Both of them finished the big bowl of ice cream in just a few minutes. Naruto was burping his hearts out when he heard Aoi-sama called a name he knows very well. " Kakashi…:" Aoi whispered. She stood up slowly and her eyes were concentrated at the window. Kakashi nodded as a sign of respect. " Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here," Naruto asked while sitting since his stomach won't let him stand up.

" The Anbus are looking for you, Aoi-sama. I already told them about this place. They will be here in just a few minutes," Kakashi explained why he was there. Aoi nodded. " I knew I couldn't run away far. But at least I'm home right," Aoi-sama smiled and sat next to Naruto. " Come in Kakashi. You want something to drink? Coffee? Tea," Aoi asked as she turned on the TV. Kakashi entered the house but refused to have any drinks. There were silence in the room for a while. " How long have you known Kakashi-sensei," Naruto asked Aoi. Aoi raised her eyebrows. " You seemed like you've known each other," Naruto shrugged his shoulder. " Actually, we do. We've known each other since Kakashi was young," Aoi started. " You weren't that old. Our age barely differ," Kakashi added. Aoi shrugged. " Well, I feel like time had fly. You were 14 and I was 18 when we first met." Naruto nodded, interested in knowing the whole thing. " I like to walk down the memory lane but the ANBU is here," Aoi announced. Kakashi and Naruto was shocked. ' I can't sense them. They're still far from my sensing radius. But she…..' Kakashi looked at Aoi. ' Well… It's Aoi-sama! I shoudn't be that surprised.' Naruto didn't want to go back yet but he knew it was late. " Kakashi, can you walk Naruto back," Aoi asked when she and Naruto stood up. Naruto immediately said no. " I can take care of myself!." Aoi nodded. " Still, I want him to walk you back," Aoi smiled and pat Naruto's head twice. Kakashi shrugged, showing no emotion. Aoi smiled and wished of them good night. When she closed the door and turned around, 5 ANBUs was standing in her living room. " As expected," Aoi said and went back into the living room.

Naruto and Kakashi used the streets instead the rooftops. Kakashi was walking in front and Naruto was following him. No one said anything. " Kakashi-sensei," Naruto called. Kakashi stopped and turned around. " Hmm?…" " She's a very important person to this village isn't she," Naruto asked. Kakashi continued walking before answering. " Yes, Aoi-sama is very important." " Why," Naruto quicken his pace and walked beside Kakashi. " She's strong and nice… I don't why but she is important."

" But why everyone is calling her 'Aoi-sama.'?." Kakashi didn't say anything for a while. " Because she is related with someone important and because she deserved it." Naruto was more puzzled than before. " Who? Who is she related to?." " Hokage! Ah! We reached your place. Ok! Good night, Naruto!." Before Naruto could say anything, Kakashi had already vanished, leaving only white smokes. " Hokage? Which Hokage?."


	5. Chapter 5

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 5 : THE NIGHT THE SKY CRIED.

A female ninja was running through the forest at high speed. Her body still hurts from the labor but she ignored it. Right now, she wanted to see him. After she heard what one of the ninja had told her, she ran to the place they had mentioned. She slowed down when she saw a crowd of ninja. They made a way for her when the saw her. She kept on walking and walking until she saw him. He was lying on the ground. There was a medic-nin by his side trying to heal him but she knew it was useless. He knew it was useless. He smiled at her when he saw her. " Hey.. Kinda guess that you would drop by…," he joked. She was holding her tears all the way there. She was on the verge of tears when she saw him. She went to his side. The medic-nin looked at her. He shook his head. She lifted his head carefully and placed it on her lap.

" I'm sorry… I lost the baby.. I lost our son..," she confessed and drops of tears fell on his face. He looked away for a while but then looked up and smiled. " It's not your fault.. It's my fault…," he whispered to her. She looked at him, not understanding what he was saying. " We can't have another baby after this cause I have to go," he explained as he caressed her face. She closed her eyes, dropping tears as she did that. She tighten her hug around his neck. " No, you can't leave me. Not after our son left. I can't lose both of you," she begged to him. He smiled his soft smile. " I have to go. I don't have much time left…," he continued as his voice weaken. " No! No! I won't let you," she screamed and knelt by his side. She started pumping chakura into him like the medic-nin was doing before. Her tears was falling down her cheek as she did it.

" Stop it.. It's useless… you'll die if you keep on doing that..," he tried to stop her. " Then I'll die with you," she replied with full determination in her eyes. He sighed. " Please… come here…," he half begged. She looked at him, the man she loves so much. She knelt by his shoulder and leaned her face towards him. She buried her face into his neck, sobbing. " This is the end. We'll never see each other again, we'll never fight with each other again, we'll never have babies together and spent our old days together like we planned. This is it….," he whispered. She cried even worst. " I don't want you to go. I don't want you to die….," she said between sobs as she looked at him with tears glisten azure eyes.

" I have to… I'm sorry.. for everything. Can you give me one last kiss? A goodbye kiss," he asked with a weak smile. She leaned forward and placed her lips on his. It was a soft kiss. The softest kiss they ever had. When she pulled away, he gave her one big smile and close his eyes. She panicked. She started pumping chakura into him again, hoping that he would somehow revived. Some of the ninja tried to stop her but she pushed them away. Her tears were running down her cheek. She kept on pumping the chakura until she felt so tired and her vision was blurry. She heard someone around her said something but she couldn't understands it. The sound was falling away until she fell into the darkness.

The ninja started to gather around them when they realized he had died and she was trying to revive him. She gave out all her chakura until she was left with none and fell on his chest. The ninjas ran towards them. They had seen with their own eyes what the two lovers had done. One sacrifice his life for the village and one sacrifice her life for him. The moment she fell on his chest, the rain started to fall. The ninja panicked. They lost their two leaders in just one night. Even the sky was crying for them.


	6. Chapter 6

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 6 : MEETING PEOPLE.

Aoi jolted from her bed. It was the same dream she was having since the past 12 years. She was running in the forest. Then she saw him. She gave him one last kiss and she lost her consciousness when she used up all of her chakura to revive him. She pulled the blanket to her chess and squeezed it tightly. " I miss you so much..," she whispered to herself and tears fell down her cheek.

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were having their morning training, supervised by Kakashi. They didn't have any mission so they practiced in the forest. Kakashi was sitting on a rock, watching them from quite a distance. Sasuke and Naruto were having a hand-to-hand combat while Sakura was target-practicing. Kakashi took out his ' Come Come Paradise' and started to read it when he noticed that someone was coming. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura also noticed. They stopped training and walked towards their instructor. From a distance, they saw three people walking towards them.

" Ah! It's Aoi-sama," Sakura exclaimed when she saw them clearly. Aoi was walking in between two ANBU. There was a big smile on her face as she waved to them. Sakura and Naruto waved back. Kakashi got up and looked at her. Aoi was wearing a black turtleneck and a black khaki. She wore a white sleeveless jacket outside and tied her hair into a ponytail. Finally she reached them. " What brings you here, Aoi-sama," Kakashi asked when she stopped walking and stood next to him. " Nothing. Just having a walk. By the way, drop the 'sama' part will you," she replied. Kakashi sighed, " The same old you…." Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other.

" You guys saved me before. So I dropped by to say thanks. I would like to buy you guys dinner or something like that…," she explained. Naruto laughed. " We saved you back then didn't we? You should do something like that," he said quite rudely. The two ANBU leaned forward but stopped when Aoi raised her hand. " What about tonight," she asked them. They looked at each other and nodded slowly. " Ok! I'll see you at Oishi Restaurant at 8 ok," Aoi chirped happily. Kakashi interrupted and told they kids to continue with their training.

While they were training, Aoi stood next to Kakashi who sat on a rock. " Why are you really here," he asked quite sternly. Aoi didn't answer right away. Her eyes were fixed on Naruto who was fighting with Sasuke. " You know why, Kakashi…," she murmured.

Kakashi sighed and nodded. " I'm looking for some answers… I know you have it," Aoi said and gazed into Kakashi's eyes. Kakashi stood up and faced her. " I have the answers. But I'm not in a position which I can tell you…" Aoi gazed him intently. " Then who can tell me?." Kakashi didn't look away. " You know who…." Aoi broke into a smile. " As expected," and started to leave. " If you had expected this, why did you come here," Kakashi shouted. Aoi stopped and turned around. " You know why…." Kakashi laughed. " It's him right," Kakashi uttered as he glanced at Naruto. Aoi was looking at Naruto too but her expression was different from Kakashi. Her eyes were filled with sadness. Kakashi noticed it but he made no remark of it. Without saying anything, she turned around and walked away.

Aoi reached the administration building. She went inside and walked straight to the Village Councils office. Without knocking, she barged in. The Councils were completely surprised to see her but they faced her calmly. " I didn't expect us to meet until the day after tomorrow," the woman announced. Aoi smirked, " Sorry, can't wait that long. I need answers now…" The old man and woman shook their head. " We have to wait for the meeting where we will confirmed your identity. You cannot expect us to believe that you're Aoi just like that…" Aoi smiled calmly. She walked towards their table and placed both of her hands on the table.

" I know. Do as you like. But you know I'm Aoi. The real Aoi…," she stared them in the eyes, testing them. They were taken aback but they regained their composure. Aoi smiles out of satisfaction seeing their reaction. " You have her personality. Bold, straight-forward and full of surprises. Most importantly, what you see is NOT what you get..," the old man stated. Aoi nodded her head. " But I changed these past few years. Not entirely but I changed…," Aoi whispered. " And you may not like the changes..," she warned them. The councils looked at each other. Aoi smiled and started to leave. Aoi stopped at the door." Don't mind if I do some things before the meeting…," and she winked to them and closed the door.


	7. Chapter 7

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 7: WALKING DOWN MEMORY LANE.

Aoi had lost the two ANBU who was assigned to escort her. " Sorry but I need some time alone," she told them before she started to run. They tried to run after her but she managed to get away easily. " Sorry but you guys cannot be compared to me…," she shouted as she disappeared from their view. The two ANBU sighed. They went back to the headquarters and reported what happen to Tsunade. " I' not surprised. She prefer to be left alone. Just let her be," Tsunade commanded. They looked at each other, puzzled. Tsunade sighed, " Aoi will always be Aoi. She never changed." One of the ANBU asked, " You know her? I mean before this?." Tsunade nodded as a smile appeared on her face. A smile that neither the ANBU nor Shizune could explain.

Aoi was standing, facing the Memorial Stone. There were names of fallen ninja written on the stone. Two of her loved ones have their name on the stone. She stared into the names fro a long time before saying, " I'm sorry, Dad. I wasn't here when this happen. When Orochimaru killed you… If I were here, I could prevent it from happening…" She who was standing knelt in front of the stone and touched it. " Don't worry.. I'll find him. Not just for revenge but for this village…" She stopped when she noticed someone was standing behind her. She turned around in amazing speed and threw her shuriken. The person managed to dodge but one of the shuriken scratched his shoulder. " Whoah! Hold it there! It's just me…," the person shouted in panic. Aoi stood up, preparing for another attack but paused when she saw him.

" Jiraiya-sensei," she exclaimed happily. Jiraiya raised his hand and stopped when he realized her shuriken had scratched his shoulder. Aoi noticed it too. She quickly ran towards him. " Gomen nasai. I thought you were.. you know… enemy..," she explained rather embarrassed to herself. Jiraiya waved his hand, signaling that his fine and she shouldn't worry about it. " But Aoi, you haven't change a bit," Jiraiya remarked. Aoi tilted her head. " What?." Jiraiya smiled a mischievous smile, " You haven't gotten old. You were just like yourself the last time I met you. I guess that was 13 years ago?. Not like that old hag Tsunade, using jutsu to hide her wrinkles." Tsunade who was sitting in her office sneezed. " Cold," Shizune asked. Tsunade shook her head. " Someone must be talking bad things about me." She took no notice of it and continued with her paper works.

Aoi looked at herself and nodded slowly. " It's a long story. I'm telling everyone during the meeting we're having the day after tomorrow. You're coming right, Jiraiya-sensei?." Jiraiya nodded his head, " Ah.. that old hag Tsunade forced me to come. Stupid meeting." Once again Tsunade sneezed. " I think you better go and check," Shizune suggested. Tsunade looked outside the window. " Must be that old pervert…," she mumbled to herself.

Jiraiya and Aoi walked side by side. " Jiraiya-sensei.. you still remember the first time I met him," Aoi broke the silence. " How can I forgot? That idiot almost died. Luckily you were there… It wasn't a casual way of meeting someone you know...," Jiraiya commented. Aoi chuckled." It was odd but I remembers it clearly as if it just happened yesterday…" Jiraiya noticed a tone of sadness in her voice. " It was 15 years ago wasn't it?." Aoi nodded sadly. " I still wonder why did you leave him back then? It was dangerous wasn't it," Aoi asked cheerfully, trying to hide the sadness she was feeling. " I never thought he would go that far. That's why I never left Naruto. I learned my lesson…." Aoi interrupted, " Naruto?." Jiraiya looked and cursed, " Shit! Erm… you know…" Aoi smiled to herself. " I understand. You're not in the position to say it." Jiraiya scratched his head and nodded with a guilty smile.

" It's ok. They'll tell during the meeting," Aoi said confidently. Jiraiya was shocked to hear it. He couldn't believe that the Village Councils would tell Aoi about the whole story. " Well, seemed like they would tell me….," Aoi's voice trailed off. Jiraiya widen his eyes. " Seemed?." " I had threaten them…" " With what?." " Nothing. Just words and my scary face…," Aoi smiled innocently. Jiraiya snorted. " You think that they would buy it?." Aoi shrugged. " You can never tell what a woman who lost her husband and her son on the same day and disappeared for 12 years would do when she came back if she doesn't get what she wants," she explained with a straight face. Jiraiya stopped. " Now that you put it that way, it does sounds scary."

Not realizing it, they had reached the waterfall. " Brings back lots of memories. This is where it all began…," Jiraiya murmured as he looked around. Aoi nodded. Her head was down and her hair was covering her eyes. Jiraiya knew behind those hairs, the azure eyes were glistening with tears though he cannot see it. ' Because I know you Aoi. I know you very well like I knew him….' " I'll wait for you at the Memorial Stone. Don't stay here too long ok," he said as he pat her on the shoulder. Aoi nodded as Jiraiya disappeared with a puff of smoke. " Thank you Jiraiya-sensei." Aoi stood by the waterfall and relived that day.


	8. Chapter 8

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 8 : THE KUNOICHI AND THE FROG

Aoi was standing by the river. She had just finished her training with Tsunade for the day. She sat by the river, trying to relax and calm herself after a stressful day. She was also trying to regain back her chakura after the training. She still have some of it left but only enough to do simple task such as walking. She was enjoying the silence when suddenly she heard something exploded. She knew it was coming from the bottom of the waterfall. She walked carefully to the end of the river. From the cliff, she looked down carefully to see the bottom of the waterfall. She saw nothing so she started to walk back to her place. That was when she saw it.

A small frog about the size of a cat was drowning. And the strong current was dragging him towards the waterfall. Unbelievably, the frog was screaming for help. Aoi looked in disbelief. The frog managed to hold on to a stone. " What is a frog like you doing in a fast current river like this," she shouted from the river bank. " Just shut up and help me," the frog screamed. Aoi was taken aback. " Hey! Damn frog. Don't you know how to ask for a favor," she screamed. " If you have the time to talk, why don't you give me hand will ya," the frog screamed back. Aoi was so pissed. She placed her hands on her hips and said, " If you want me to help you, asked nicely you drowning-and-about-to-die-but-still-talk-rudely-to-the-only-person-that-can-save-you little frog."

Finally the frog gave up, " Ok! Would you please give me a hand," he asked politely. Aoi nodded her head in satisfaction. She was about to jump to the frog when his hand slipped and he was pulled by the current. " HELP!." " Shit," Aoi cursed and jumped to catch him. When he was in her arms, she realized that they had fallen off the waterfall. " Damn it," she quickly pull a string from her pack and threw it towards a tree nearby. Her body was yanked from the sudden force. " Hey watch it will you? I asked you to save me not kill me…," the frog started yapping again. Aoi smiled a scary smile. She One of her hand was gripping the rope. She held one of the frog legs and held him upside down in front of her face.

" If my fingers slipped…., you won't get to see tomorrow, you ungrateful frog….," she threatened the loud frog. The frog knew she was serious judging from her face. " I'm sorry.. Can we please get out of this situation?." Aoi sighed. " I used up most of my chakura so this is the only thing I can do for now…." The frog leaned his face towards Aoi's. " You mean we're stuck here? You should save me… not leaving me stuck here with you!." Aoi smiled 'the scary smile' again. " We can always drop you first and I can land on you. That way, both of you can get out of this situation. Why do you say, huh?." The frog bowed to her. " Please find another way. I'm counting my life on you," he replied politely. Aoi nodded and looked around, finding a way to escape from the hanging situation. Suddenly, there was a sound coming from the top. She looked up. " No! You gotta be kidding me," she said as she saw the string started to snap.

With a lighting speed she threw her kunai to the cliff's wall. She threw the kunai so that they would formed a line. Then he threw the screaming frog towards the kunai, making him land safely on the kunai that stuck out from the cliff. She smiled in satisfaction as she started to fall in a very high speed towards the bottom of the waterfall. Underneath, hundreds of sharp and hard stones were waiting for her body to land on.


	9. Chapter 9

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 9 : ME, HIM AND THE FROGS.

Aoi closed her eyes as she anticipated for the pain to sear through to her body. She waited but the pain didn't came. " You can opened your eyes now. You're safe…," a gentle voice called. Aoi opened her eyes slowly. What she saw in front of her will be imprinted in her heart forever. She was facing a guy. With blonde hair similar to her only brighter and a blue eye almost the same as her azure one. His hair was wild and he had the gentlest look in his eyes she ever saw. And he was smiling to her a very gentle smile. The sunlight that was shining behind him added beauty to the view in front of her. Then she realized she was in the young man's arm. She quickly stood up and straighten herself.

" Thanks for catching me… must be heavy right," she joked as he stood up facing her. He was a few inches taller than her. He shook his head, " No… you were as light as feather…" Aoi smiled and swayed gently on the spot she was standing. The guy's face was filled with concern. " Are you ok," he asked. " Fine. Just need some rest…," she said as she lost her balance and fell into the guy's chest. The guy had his hand around her, supporting her from falling down. He placed her on a rock gently and knelt in front of her. " I'm fine.. you just continue with what you were doing before you save me..," she mumbled as she placed her hands to her temple.

He stood up. " Actually, I was having some fight with that frog…" Aoi looked up to find a very huge frog at the other side of the river. The frog was looking at them with a bored face. " How can I not noticed such a big frog in front of me?...," Aoi mumbled to herself. The guy heard her but made no remark of it. " Never mind, just continue with what you're doing. I'll be here…" The guy left and went to the big frog. " Let's continue.. Ok… if you managed to throw me off your back, I won't be your master," he announced casually. Aoi choked herself. What is this about? Today, I'm surrounded by frogs…. "Frogs," Aoi murmured and tried to remember something. The thought hit her. She laughed nervously and looked up. About 100 feet above her, the little frog was screaming for help but no one noticed. Aoi pretended as if she didn't see him.' I guess I should leave him there for a while to learn his lesson….'

The guy and the frog had started. The frog was jumping here and there wildly but the guy just used one hand to hang on. Aoi watched with no interest. " A guy playing rodeo with a giant frog… Me watching as I'm waiting to get my chakura back. A noisy frog is screaming for help above me. Life couldn't get much better," Aoi grumbled slowly. The guy was laughing and grinning like a hatter. " He'll be out of chakura soon and the frog will crushed him like a fly….," she made a prediction.

After a few hours, Aoi regained back her strength but she decided to rest some more so that she would have enough energy to go straight back. The guy seemed exhausted. So does the little frog for he already stopped screaming hours ago. " Guess he'll fall anytime now… the sun had already set." After she finished her words, the frog landed in front of her. Her hair flew back because of the strong wind and caused the ribbon she used to tie her hair flew too leaving her hair free.

" You managed to hold on. Now you are my master…," the giant frog said. The guy smiled and jumped to the ground. He tried to stand but he used up all of his chakura. Aoi ran to him and helped him to stand up. She had his hand around her shoulders and one of her was holding him at his waist. " I'll leave him to you," the giant fog said as she brought him near the rock and laid him gently on the ground. The guy was chakura depleted. Aoi checked his vital signs. " He's very weak. If it continue like this, he'll die…" Aoi started pumping chakura into him. She too had little chakura but she knew the guy needed it more than she does. " You'll die if you keep on giving him your chakura," the giant frig warned. Aoi ignored him. She kept on pumping chakura until she managed to stabilize his vital signs. She had gave him almost all of her chakura. When she stopped pumping, she slumped, sitting weakly by his side. Her vision was blurry but she was still conscious.

The giant frog saw that both of them were saved so he was preparing to jump and leaved when Aoi called him back. " There's a little frog up there on the cliff. I wonder if he's related to you somehow..," Aoi pointed the little frog's place. The giant frog looked and screamed to the little frog. " What are you doing? We're going back already!." The little frog jumped on the giant frog's back. The little frog was whispering to the giant frog while pointing at Aoi's direction. Aoi made an annoyed face. 'He must be telling him of what I did before. If he decided to attack, me and this guy is dead….'

The giant frog nodded after the little frog finished whispering. " My son said you saved his life?." Aoi was gawking. " Son? You're his fa.. father?." The giant frog nodded. " I owe you two. One for saving my son and the other one for saving my master," the giant announced as he glanced at the guy who was sleeping soundly. Aoi smiled to the frog. " I'll ask for it one day," she screamed as the giant frog leaped and went out of sight.

Aoi smiled and sighed, " What a day…" Her eyes gazed on the unconscious guy lying beside her. After remembering about what happened that day, she smiled. " Maybe it wasn't such a bad day after all…."


	10. Chapter 10

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 10 : DINNER.

Aoi's eyes fluttered and opened slowly. The first thing that she saw was the waterfall in front of her. She had been lost in old memories. She let out a sad smile and started walking back to the Memorial Stone where Jiraiya was waiting for her.

" Sorry for the long wait," she apologized as she reached the stone. Jiraiya shook his head. Aoi nodded. " How long would you be here, Jiraiya-sensei," she asked knowing that Jiraiya never stay long at the village. Jiraiya was rubbing his chin, thinking. " I'll leave tomorrow…" Aoi half screamed, " Tomorrow? That's too fast!." Jiraiya put his hand on Aoi's head. " I know you want me to be there during the meeting right? Sorry! I have more important things to do…" Aoi nodded. " When I'll get back, we'll go out and you'll tell me the story while drinking ok?." Aoi nodded. Jiraiya pat her head and started to leave.

Aoi left when Jiraiya was out of her sight. She had met Jiraiya, her husband's sensei. " I guess I should go and meet my sensei.. ex-sensei… Oh, well. I have an appointment with her tomorrow. We'll talk tomorrow.." Aoi ran towards her apartment as she realized that she will be late for the dinner with Group 7 is she doesn't hurry.

Naruto was the first to arrive at the restaurant. He entered the restaurant timidly. Oishi Restaurant was a high class restaurant and he never imagine coming there with his own pocket money. As he walked towards the counter, a waiter went up to him. " Mr Uzumaki Naruto?." Naruto nodded. " Your table is ready. Please follow me." Naruto followed the waiter and he was seated to a table by the window. From the window, he could see amazing view of the river. " Nice place…."

A few minutes later, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi arrived. All of them was surprised to see Kakashi came according to the promised time. " Kakashi-sensei! It's rare to see you come according to the time…," Naruto made a remark as Kakashi took his seat. " Try never," Sakura corrected him. Sasuke nodded his head. " Why are you here as promised tonight? You never arrived like this even if it's an important mission…," Sakura pestered him with questions. Kakashi was annoyed. " It's important for a ninja to be punctual," he tried to shut them up. " Yes, ninja but not you..," Sasuke replied with a sarcastic smile. Kakashi sighed. " Is it because of Aoi-samaa," Sakura made a wild guess. All three of them looked at him, waiting for answer. Kakashi looked away and blushed. " No," he blurted. They laughed. " Kakashi-sensei blushed! He likes her," Sakura squealed. Kakashi let out a heavy sigh while the kids were busy discussing about him, in front of him.

" I'm sorry for arriving late…," a voice was heard from behind them. Naruto looked behind him. Aoi was standing, smiling guiltily. Kakashi's mouth dropped to the ground. Aoi looked different from what he remembered. She was wearing a white dress. The dress was sleeveless and reached her knee. The fabric was so smooth that it swayed every time she moved. Aoi took a seat in between Sakura and Naruto. She was facing Kakashi. Aoi noticed how Kakashi looked at her.

" What? Is there's something wrong," she asked innocently. Kakashi shook his head furiously while his students giggled knowing that he liked the way Aoi dressed that night. They had their dinner, a very delicious one. After dessert, they stayed for a while as all of them up dated Aoi about what happened to the village while she was gone.

They were standing in front of the restaurant. Aoi thanked them for joining her. And Aoi started to leave. Kakashi and the kids watched her. " Kakashi-sensei? Don't you think you should walk her back," Sakura suggested. Kakashi looked at her. Naruto and Sasuke nodded simultaneously. Kakashi scratched his head. " I don't think I should…," he replied but he was pushed by the three of them. When he realized it, he was standing behind Aoi. Aoi noticed and turned. " Kakashi?." " I think I better walk you home…," he suggested shyly. Aoi nodded and smiled. They started walking side by side towards Aoi's apartment.


	11. Chapter 11

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 11 : MY PAST AND FUTURE.

Aoi and Kakashi walked in silence. Sometimes their eyes would met and they would exchanged smiles. " You have appointment with Tsunade-sama tomorrow right," Kakashi broke the silence. Aoi nodded, " She wants to find the cause of my condition.." " Your condition? The not growing old part?." Aoi smiled. " It's a good thing right," Kakashi tested her. Aoi didn't say anything. " It depends on how you see it… Orochimaru? Or just a woman manage to maintain her youth…" Kakashi shuddered at the words. " That's quite an extreme example," Kakashi commented. " Yup but that's the simplest way to explain." " Does she thinks it's something dangerous," Kakashi's face turned serious.

Aoi nodded. " It might be a poison that can kill me anytime. Might be a jutsu that will destroy me later. Anyway, she thinks it's bad news…" Kakashi knew why the Hokage expected things like that. " You might want to know details, right? Come to the meeting. I'll spill every beans I have there…," Aoi invited. " In exchange for," Kakashi continued. He knew Aoi is a very intelligent woman and she always find way even during the most desperate situation.. Aoi smirked, " Some answers for some of my questions…" Kakashi looked to the ground, " Questions about 'him' right?." Aoi stopped walking.

" Of course! What else," Aoi lifted her head and smiled brightly. Kakashi knew that the smile was fake. Kakashi also knew that she was trying to hold back her tear cause he can tell when the azure eyes were smiling and when the azure eyes were crying. And at that time, the azure eyes were about to cry. " What if they decided not to tell you?." Aoi's face darken. " Then I'll just have to force the answer out of them.."

Aoi started to walk again. She walked slowly as if delaying to go back. Kakashi shrugged and was about to continue walking her back to her apartment when she suddenly said without looking back, " Thanks for walking me back." Again, Kakashi sighed. He knew the meaning of those words. She refused to let him walked her any further. Before Kakashi turned around to leave he said to her. " You should start forgetting about the past and start thinking about your future…"

Even after Kakashi left, Aoi was still standing there, caressing the ring she wore on her finger. " I only have the past to live for. The future holds nothing for me if I'm not sure about the past." Clutching her hand, she brought it to her chest. " That's why I must confirm my past first!."

Aoi continued walking until she reached her apartment. She was standing on the road, looking at her apartment and decided she didn't want to go back yet. So she started walking aimlessly while looking at the sky, sometimes counting the stars and sometimes talked to herself. Without realizing it, she reached a mansion. She snapped out of her thought when she saw the familiar mansion. " My house…..," she murmured to herself. She stood there, looking and remembering the good old days when she stayed there with her brother and father. She was lost in her thought, not noticing a figure was standing by the window, watching her.

As Aoi was about to walk away, a person approached her and called her. " Ojou-sama…" ( Young Miss: servant use this to call their employer's daughter..). Aoi quickly turned around. There, she saw a plump and short old woman standing by her, giving her a warm smile. The warm smile that she grew up with. " Akiko-baasan ( Grandma Akiko)..," she blurted once she saw the old woman in front of her. The woman's eyes filled with tears as Aoi approached her. " I never thought that I would ever see you again, Ojou-sama.." Aoi smiled. " Me too. Never thought you'd be here until now.."

Akiko nodded. She wiped her tears her sleeves. She let out a nervous laugh before apologizing for crying. Aoi shook her head gently. The woman smiled again. " Why are you still here? I thought no one is here anymore….," Aoi asked. " I went to the memorial and I saw her name too. Mimiko-neechan… she died too…." Akiko nodded sadly. " That's why I must be here." Aoi tilted her head, not understanding what she was saying. At that moment, a young boy dashed out from the house. He went to Akiko's side and stood there, looking at Aoi with curious expression.

" This boy is….," Aoi asked Akiko as she glanced to the boy with naughty face. " This is your nephew.. Konohamaru….."


	12. Chapter 12

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 12 : FAMILY.

" Ken-niichan," the little girl screamed as she walked through the forest. She was playing hide and seek with her brothers when she decided to go deeper into the forest. That was when she lost her way. " Shin-niichan," she yelled her second brother's name. Tears started to well up in her eyes. The sun was setting and it would get dark soon. Although she was a brave girl, she was still a 5 years old little girl. She was holding a small kunai in her arm, in case anything bad happened.

She heard a sound of something rustling from the bushes in front of her. She paused, holding the kunai in front of her. Slowly, she saw something came out from the bushes. Before the thing emerged completely from the bushes, she already dashed into a run. You don't need to see the whole body of a tiger before you run for your life.

There she was, a small girl of 5, running as fast as her little feet could carry, while being chased by a big tiger. " Ken-niichan! Shin-niichan! Help me," the little girl screamed in despair. Tears were running down her cheek but she didn't stop running. Tree braches slapped her face and feet like sharp knife but she was too frighten to care. She was running out of breath and the tiger was drawing close to her. That was when her feet was caught in the tree roots and she felled.

Aoi tried to stand up and run again but she felled to the ground. She had twisted her ankle and couldn't walk. The tiger was approaching her slowly, crouching it's back, ready to jump at her anytime. When the tiger jumped, Aoi closed her eyes and screamed on the top of her lung.

She heard a thud and she was swiftly lifted from the ground. When she opened her eyes, she was in Shin-niichan's arms. She searched for the tiger. She saw the tiger, dead and Ken-niichan was holding a bloodied kunai. She was 5, Shin-niichan was 8 and Ken-niichan was 12. They were her brothers. The one that she loves very much. And the one who love and protect her till the very end of their life.

Aoi was holding a frame with a picture in it. She was standing in the middle and Ken-niichan's hand was around her shoulder while Shin-niichan's was on her head. She was smiling like a mad hatter in the picture. The picture that was taken when she graduated from the Ninja Academy. Slowly and carefully, she placed the frame back on the table. She walked around the house, occasionally smiling when she remembered what happened there. Her action earned a curious look from Konohamaru who was sitting in the living room. Akiko was in the kitchen, preparing supper.

" You're my aunt, right," the little boy asked when Aoi entered the living room. Aoi nodded. Konohamaru nodded his head and continue asking, " Why are you so young? You're my aunt, meaning you should be around 30's. why do you look like a teenage girl?." Aoi laughed. " You have good eyes, Konohamaru. It's an asset for a ninja." Konohamaru was filled with pride. But then he realized, " Don't change the subject!." Aoi smiled as she stared at the young boy in front of him. " You look just like your father when he was young," Aoi commented. Konohamaru looked down. " I don't really remember much about him… he died when I was small. So did mum…" Aoi nodded. " They were good people… nice and gentle people…" And then Konohamaru realized it again and screamed, " Stop changing the topic. Answer my question!." Aoi laughed and talked about lots of things but she never answer the question which made Konohamaru pissed.

That night, Aoi stayed at the mansion. She even slept in her old room which Akiko never failed to keep tidy. " I always believe that you'll come back somehow… didn't believe that you died….," she said when Aoi was looking around her room. Aoi thanked her. The bed was smaller than she used to remember but she slept soundly. And for once, the dream she always have seemed to give a rest that night. Her dreams were filled with the memories of her brothers and the house.


	13. Chapter 13

BLONED HAIR

CHAPTER 13: INSIGNIFICANT PEOPLE.

Aoi woke up early. She felt so fresh because she didn't wake up panting like she always does. When she went down, she saw that breakfast was prepared. Akiko greeted her with a warm good morning and served her food. Konohamaru came down when Aoi started to eat. " Today, you have a test right, Konohamaru…," Akiko reminded him as she poured him his tea. Konohamaru froze. Aoi knew what that mean. " You forget and you didn't study at all, right," Aoi guessed as she took a sip of her tea. Konohamaru let out a nervous laugh. Akiko seemed very worry. " Never mind. I'll teach you a thing or two on the way…" That suggestion made both Akiko and Konohamaru felt relieved.

Aoi and Konohamaru walked side by side. " Today, the test is about Bunshin no Jutsu…" Aoi nodded. " How's your Bunshin no Jutsu," Aoi asked straightly. Konohamaru's shoulder slumped. " Sucks huh," Aou guessed. " Show me…." Konohamaru made the hand seal and closed his eyes tightly. " Bunshin no Jutsu," he screamed. Aoi stopped walking. Konohamaru's bunshin was lying in front of her like a ragged doll. Aoi's sweat dropped. " You need a lot of practice….," she finally blurted.

Konohamaru started screaming and scratching his head. Aoi looked in pity. " I don't think you'll have time to practice now….." Konohamaru knelt to the ground. Aoi sighed. " I can give you one tip though….." Konohamaru looked up with eyes filled with hope. Aoi bend and whispered to his ears. Konohamaru's eyes widen and looked at Aoi in disbelief. Aoi shrugged and said, " That's what a friend of mine used to do…"

After walking Konohamaru to his class, Aoi wandered around the Ninja Academy. " Some thing never changed…." Aoi walked into the training ground when she was interrupted by a voice. " May I help you," the voice asked. Aoi turned around and saw Umino Iruko standing there. His eyes widen when he saw her. " Aoi-sama…..," he blurted. Aoi gave him a small smile. " I was just walking around," Aoi explained. Iruka just nodded nervously. Aoi felt uncomfortable by the way he was acting so stiff in front of her. " I… we thought you died….," Iruka finally spoken.

Aoi looked at him. He seemed to have relaxed a little bit. " I did… But I came back.." Iruka nodded. " Everyone was so sad. We lost both you and him. Or so we thought…" Aoi said nothing, just stood there, listening. " The council haven't approve that I'm really Aoi though…." Iruka was shocked. " How could they? People can tell just by looking at you…." Aoi raised an eyebrow. " I mean… You haven't changed. Your physical… still the same but most importantly, your personality. No one can ever forget about you… They can tell just by looking. I think the council realized it too but just to be safe, they refused to approve yet….," Iruka explained, telling Aoi what he was thinking about the whole issue.

Aoi was taken aback. She didn't expect those words from the guy. " Umino Iruka, right? I talked to once, when you were still a student here, right?." Iruka nodded and smiled. " That's what people like about you, Aoi-sama. You don't forget people no matter how insignificant they are to you…." Aoi blushed and smiled. She took both of Iruka's hands in hers and squeezed it. " Thank you….," she whispered. Iruka's face turned red. He was nodding, no able to make any sound.

Aoi left with a wave. Iruka was still looking at her even after she disappeared from his sight. " Iruka-sensei… do you like my aunt," a voice from behind asked. Iruka turned around and saw Konohamaru with his mischievous smile. " What do you mean," Iruka asked after he regained his composure. " I can help you if you let me pass the test," Konohamaru made an offer. Iruka glared at him. Before Konohamaru could say anything, the teacher's knuckle was already on his head. " Better go back and study for your test rather than saying stupid things like that…!"

Aoi walked towards the administration building. Today, she was supposed to meet Tsunade for a medical check-up. After that she planned to go to the library and do some catching up about the village.


	14. Chapter 14

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 14 : THE CHANGE

Aoi entered the office after Tsunade called her. When she entered the room, she saw Tsunade was sitting while Shizune was standing beside her. They were looking at her with serious face. " What did I do," Aoi asked innocently as she walked inside and sat on the chair. As soon as she sat on the chair, Shizune and Tsunade approached her. They were examining her face. " No wrinkles. The skin of a teenage girl, maybe around 20," Shizune commented. " She seemed older than the last time I saw her but not so old… as she is supposed to be…," Tsunade commented. Aoi said nothing.

" Ah! That thing is still there," Tsunade exclaimed as she pointed to the tattoo on Aoi's left part of her neck. " Of course it's still there! Tattoo can't be erased! You gave me this," Aoi protested. "You should be thankful I pick 'tenshi' ( angel) instead of 'buta'( pig) or something worst! You deserve it because you left me!." Tsunade replied back. Aoi made no protest." I'm sorry that I left you but I have to do it," Aoi justified herself. Tsunade sighed. " No point thinking about the past! Now lets go to the hospital and have you check out!."

(flashback)

Aoi ran as fast she could. The guy she met at the waterfall was in front her. They had gotten close since they first met. They were heading towards the hospital. When they reached the hospital, they quickly ran towards the emergency room. That was when Tsunade came out from the ER. When she saw Aoi, she looked at her sadly and shook her head. Aoi paused on the spot. Slowly, she dragged her feet and entered the ER. When she saw him lying still on the bed. She stood by the bed and pulled the sheet that was covering his face. His face was pale but he seemed very calm, as if he was sleeping. Aoi refused to believe it.

" Ken-niichan," she screamed while shaking her brother's body, hoping to wake him up from his sleep like she does every morning. Yet, this is different from the mornings she woke him up. This time, he would never opened her eyes. Her brother was lying there, dead after he was mortally wounded in a fight. Aoi cried on his chest. The chest that could no longer breath, no longer able to hug her when she is sad or frighten. Tears were streaming down her face. She couldn't believe it.

She felt so tired and exhausted. Suddenly, someone pulled her gently from the bed. She looked up. The guy was in front of her, smiling to her like the first time they met. " It's ok. Don't worry. He didn't died in vain," he whispered comfort to her. Aoi's eyes welled up with tears. She plunged her face on his chest and cried her heart out. He was hugging her, gently stroking her back and hair. Aoi was devastated but somehow she knew everything will be fine. If this man is by her side, everything would be just fine…

It took her a week to come back to reality after her brother died. She stayed home, locked in her room but the guy never fail to visit her. One day, they went out and headed towards the waterfall. They sat at the rock where they first met. " I made up my mind," Aoi suddenly said. The guy looked at her and asked about what. " I'm going to be a field ninja. Meaning, I'll stop being a medic-nin.." The guy nodded. " You know you have to tell Tsunade-sensei about this…," he clarified. Aoi nodded. " I'll be there if you need me..," he offered. Aoi smiled. She knew he would say that. " Thanks but I'm doing this alone.." The guy shrugged. " You know she won't let you go just like that….." Aoi nodded. " She might do some bad things to you." Aoi nodded again. They both sat in silence, imagining what Tsunade would do to her. The thoughts made them shuddered. " Let's go back," Aoi pleaded. The guy nodded and they headed back, holding hands all the way back.

' No matter what happened, I know things will be just fine. If he's by my side, nothing could go wrong.. I can face anything….'

Unfortunately, he wasn't there when Aoi met Tsunade-sensei. He was sent for a mission. Aoi told Tsunade about what she had decided. " You thought about it," Tsunade asked calmly. Aoi nodded. Tsunade saw the determination in her eyes. She knew nothing can change her decision. Tsunade sighed. Before Aoi could say anything, Tsunade was already behind her. She turned around to face her but Tsunade hit her neck. Aoi fell to the ground. Before she lost her consciousness, she saw Tsunade's devil-like smile. " No..no…," she mumbled and lost her conscious.

(end of flashback)

Aoi came out after she changed her cloth into the hospital gown. She sat on the bed and waited for Tsunade to come. Not long after that, Tsunade entered the room. But Shizune was nowhere to be seen. " Shizune," Aoi asked as Tsunade approached her. " I send her to do some errands. We need the privacy," Tsunade said as she sat next to Aoi on the bed. Both of them say nothing. Tsunade noticed the tattoo. She put her hand on the tattoo and said, " I gave you this when you said you wanted to stop being a medic-nin." Aoi nodded. " You knocked me out and brought me to the shop," Aoi corrected her ex-teacher. Tsunade laughed. " I know you won't agree if I suggested it."

" Tsunade-sensei.. what's going on with my body," Aoi inquired. Tsunade sighed and got up. She went to the table and flipped some files. " According to my analysis, it's fine. You're as fit as any ninja could be." " But I'm not! I stopped growing. Even my hair stopped growing. Before, time seemed to stop. But since I came back, everything seemed normal. My hair and nail grow again. I don't know if this is a jutsu or poison…" Tsunade stared at Aoi. She knew the young woman in front her was disturbed by the growth problem. " You know, people would kill to become like you.," Tsunade tried to comfort Aoi. Aoi raised her eyebrow, " You mean, Orochimaru right?." Tsunade sighed. " Me too…"

Aoi raised her head. " You should notice that this is not my true appearance." Aoi nodded. " I know I'm old, Aoi… I know but I'm not willing too admit it..yet. What your experiencing right now is what every women's dream. You can relive your youth. It's not bringing you any harm. Don't let it go to waste by mopping around…" Aoi nodded. " I know but I need to find the truth about the past first. And no one is willing to tell me without the council's permission., right?." Aoi looked at Tsunade for answer. " Right. But not because of the council's permission. It's because they promised. The promise cannot be broken by one unless all aggress to tell you." Aoi was puzzled. " What promise? To who?." Tsunade smiled. Aoi knew the smile. It was the smile everyone gave her. The I'm-not-in-the-position-to-tell- you-smile. Aoi sighed and mumbled, " I know.. I know!.."


	15. Chapter 15

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 15 : CATCHING UP.

After the meeting with Tsunade, Aoi felt much better. " There's no place like home," she kept telling herself as she danced her way to the library. When she reached there, she headed towards the section where the things that had happened in Konoha were recorded. She started from the year she was presumed dead.

After the Kyuuni attack, the village was in pieces but they managed to rebuild it. The Third Hokage had established relationship with the other ninja village and they managed to resolve to a treaty. The war had stopped. It was all thanks to the Third Hokage. " Well, that sounds like Dad," Aoi murmured cheerfully.

She kept on absorbing information about the village. She knew the village had endured so many sad, happy and tragic events. Since Aoi is well-known for her strong memory, she was able to memorize everything in just a day. She stayed at the library until night. She only left when one of the librarian told her it was time to close.

While walking, the information that she read revolved around her head. She managed to make some connection about some event and the other. She hoped that she could come up with a connection about her past but the information weren't enough. " Just have to ask the council tomorrow…. What does Tsunade-sensei means when she said about the promise?."

( flashback)

Aoi was sitting on the rock near the waterfall. He promised to meet her there. But she had waited for almost an hour. And the sun was almost setting down. She was at the end of her patience. She stood up and was about to leave when she heard him called her. " Aoi," he screamed as he ran towards her. Aoi looked at him. " We promise to meet here an hour ago," she screamed at him. He apologized. " The men I was supposed to meet was late," he explained. Aoi sighed. She sat on the rock. " So, why do you want to meet?." He stood in front of her with a smile on his face. He looked exactly the way he looked like when he first caught her from landing on the ground. He knelt in front of her and took her hand.

" You still remember the night we spent here? You looked after the chakura-depleted me?." Aoi nodded. " After you made the fire, you felt asleep and I was asleep too. There was one time you were sleeping, I woke up. You were lying next to me, lost in your dream. At that time, when I saw you, I was mesmerized. You were like an angel send from heaven to sleep by my side. You golden long hair was on the ground, some of it was on me. I could smell your fragrance. And I watched you sleep. Someone told me before that loving someone meaning you can watch the person sleep all night long without doing anything else. That's what I did. And that point of time, I decided. This woman, is the woman I'll love and spend the rest of my life with."

He took out a small box and opened it. Aoi gasped as she saw what was inside. It was a beautiful ring. He looked up to her and spilled the magical question, " Aoi, will you marry me?." Aoi looked at the man in front her in disbelief. This is the man who saved her life, the man she always quarrel about stupid little things, the man who was by her side when her brother died, the one who supported her when she decided to stop being a medic-nin, the man that made her feel everything will be alright. A tear dropped from her azure eye when she nodded and replied. " Yes, I will be my honour…."

( end of flashback)

Aoi caressed the ring. " You did spend your life with me. It's just that I didn't get to spend the rest of mine with you…" Aoi walked pass the restaurant where they used to dine together and the roof top where they would stay there all night and watched the stars together. " How can I ever forget about you," Aoi sighed but yet she was smilling.

Aoi reached her apartment after walking for about 5 minutes. She went into the bath tub, enjoying her hot bath. The hot water literally took the sore of her body. She was scrubbing her body with a sponge when she heard a noise outside. She froze for a few seconds, her ears listening, alert to the surrounding before relaxing back and mumbling to herself about some cats that caused the noise. Out of the blue, the bathroom window broke and a person lurched in.

Aoi already knew about the person even as she entered the house but she stayed calm and waited for him to react. The attacker ran towards her with a kunai held up in front. Aoi did nothing to defend herself. She just sat in the bath tub, doing nothing though the kunai was about to reached her neck. Just before the kunai reached her neck, it stopped. Aoi smirked. " Long time no see, right," she uttered as she looked up, staring her attacker straight in the eyes. With a knowing smile, " Itachi…."


	16. Chapter 16

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 14 : RED AND BLUE.

Aoi smiled at the young man who was standing by the bath tub. He slowly pulled away his kunai and placed it back into the holster. " Why didn't you defend yourself," he asked, looking directly at the woman in front of him. Aoi looked him in the eye, not afraid even after what she heard about his jutsu. " I know you wouldn't hurt me," she answered confidently. Itachi snorted, " That's not really a safe thing to do.." Aoi smiled and continue scrubbing her body. " I know but I trust you…."

Itachi's eyes wandered on her body. Because she was taking a bubble bath, he could only see he face and her neck. And a small part of her chest. " Stop looking at me like that. Now, turn around. I'm getting out," she commanded. Itachi just followed what she had told him without no objection. " You haven't change a bit. Physically and I bet mentally too," Itachi commented. Aoi was standing behind him, wrapping a towel around her naked body. " Heard that a lot since I got back….," Aoi replied as she dried her hair with another small towel. Itachi smiled. " I wonder from who?."

Aoi stopped and looked at him. " What's that supposed to mean," she walked past him and out of the bathroom. Aoi went into her bedroom. Without replying, Itachi followed her and stood at the door. " The men in Konoha are head over heels for you," Itachi announced. He then turned his back towards her as Aoi slipped into her pyjamas. " So what. That doesn't mean anything," Aoi replied. Itachi shrugged. " You're still thinking of him, right?." Aoi stopped brushing her hair. " So what if I am," she walked past him and sat on the sofa in the living room. She opened the tv.

Itachi said nothing and didn't moved. Finally Aoi blurted, " I know about what you did, Itachi." Itachi smirked. " About me killing my clan, left only one survivor and ran away and becoming the top rank-s criminal?." Aoi nodded. Itachi's face showed no remorse or any feeling as he said all the crime that he had done. Aoi relaxed and leaned her back to the sofa. " I tried to figure out but I can't find any reason that would lead to you acting like that…," Aoi confessed. " What makes you think you know me to figure out why I did it," Itachi's voice raised a pitch. Aoi looked at him. There was gentleness in her eyes.

" Cause I'm your teacher Itachi… I spent more time with you than your own family….," Aoi reminded him. Aoi got up and walked towards the window. She was gazing on the stars when she whispered, " I know you… You wanted to change the world. I noticed that. You think power will help you change the world. I know that too. I know you wanted power and I know you'll work hard to get it. But how could the pure and naïve dream of yours ended up on a twisted and tragic road? I don't know…." Somehow those words made the calm Itachi's blood boiled. He dashed towards her and pinned her to the wall. He pinned her but Aoi showed no sign of retaliation. She stared him, directly in his eyes. " You should watch where you're staring. You don't want to be trapped in my illusion by my Sharingan." Yet, Aoi didn't move her gaze. " Why did you do it," she asked again, ever so gently.

Itachi looked away. He can't never stare her in the eyes. The azure eyes were too much for him to handle. His Sharingan was nothing compared to Aoi's eyes. Her eyes could see through every soul that was staring at her. No one can lied or keep secrets when they stared into the calm and gentle yet demanding and determined eyes. " Can you think of the difference? Something was missing. That caused me to start rampaging," Itachi said, his gaze was fixed on the floor. Aoi was confused. She tried to think of the difference in Itachi's life. The factor that could lead him into doing the unthinkable. She failed. Aoi shook her head gently. Itachi sighed before he whispered to her ear, "You….."

Aoi's eyes widen. She was clearly taken aback by the answer. " Me? How is it related to me," Aoi asked in confusion. Itachi loved to see the confusion in her eyes. " It's simple. You weren't there, you died. I never had anyone to guide me back then…." Aoi's confusion started to fade away. " No one to guide you? There must be someone in this world that could guide you other than me! There must be," Aoi pressed her voice. Itachi simply shook his head. " No… only you.. and you left me…"

Aoi was in shock. She never expected Itachi's rampage was related to her. " Why me? Yes, I'm your teacher but… why not your family? Friends? Why me," she continued asking the man who was pinning her to the wall. That was when Itachi did the unexpected and answered all the questions. He leaned forward and kissed her. Aoi was so shocked she didn't pushed him or avoided him. But then, an image appeared in her mind. " Aoi, will you marry me," asked the man who was kneeling in front of her.

" No! Stop," she screamed as she pushed Itachi with all her power. Itachi was thrown aback but he managed to balance himself. Aoi was shivering with anger. She raised her head. " That's a very disrespectful thing to do to your teacher," she screamed. He said nothing and smirked. " But that did answer your questions right?." Aoi calmed herself. " It did. I was blind for not noticing it. If I have known, I would never become your teacher!."

She continued," I'm married. I love that person very much. If I knew you have this kind of feelings for me, I would try to stop it. Being your teacher was a mistake!." Those words stabbed Itachi's heart. " IT WASN'T A MISTAKE," he screamed. " If you weren't my teacher I could have done worst! I was thinking of you when I was about to kill Sasuke. That's why I stopped!.My only happy memories involves around you as my teacher. Not my parents or my friends. Only you… my teacher!." Itachi fell to the ground. He knelt there and keep repeating what he had said. Aoi's anger faded away. She wasn't looking at a rank-s criminal who had killed his entire clan, but her emotionally wounded student. Aoi approached Itachi. She knelt next to him and pulled him into her arms. She hugged him as if she was hugging the young boy she left 12 years ago.

Itachi started to calm down. He had already forgotten the warmth of being in someone's arms. Aoi smiled and whispered gently, " Kissing is done to your girlfriend, not your teacher. This is what a teacher should do, comforting her student." Itachi nodded like a small child. " It's so warm….," he commented. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Itachi broke the hug. Aoi stood up and sat on the sofa. " I know you didn't come just to kiss me and let me hug you. Why are you here," Aoi asked him curtly. Itachi was walking to the window. " I'm her for the Fourth's legacy….," he turned to his teacher. Aoi quickly stood up. " You don't mean him right?." Itachi smirked and nodded. Within seconds, he vanished with the wind. Aoi stood by the window. The wind was blowing fiercely outside, making her hair swayed according to the wild rhythm. "No……"


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry about the long delay. Busy with school and stuff. Gomen ne!

BLONDE HAIR

CHAPTER 17 : BREAKFAST.

Aoi couldn't sleep after Itachi left. She was worried about the meeting and about what Itachi said before he left. If she was right, some chaos will happened tomorrow. Finally, she managed to sleep but as always, the dream haunted her.

She woke up early even before the sun rises. After a short bath and some new cloth, Aoi was already out from her apartment. The meeting will be held at 9 but she had to go somewhere first. She fasten her pace when she saw her destination. Instead of taking the door, she decide the window is faster. So she climbed to the window and stopped. It wasn't closed. From there, she saw him, still sleeping on his bed. " Oi! Kakashi!," she called as she jumped into the room without any noise. The minute her feet touched the ground, kunai and shuriken flew from every direction towards the place she was standing. " Still the same Kakashi!," she mumbled as she dodged every single one effortlessly.

To her surprise, there was a second attack. This time, metal strings were launched towards her. Aoi smirked. Again, she managed to dodge it with ease though she had to draw her kunai to cut some of it. " Finished?," Aoi asked as she placed her hands on her hips. Kakashi had already woke up and he was sitting on his bed. " Great entertainment in the morning!!!," he exclaimed as he clapped his hands with lack of enthusiasm. Aoi sighed.

She walked towards his bed. When she was about to reach it, she threw a kunai to her right without even giving a glance. The kunai hit the wall, missed a dog by just inches. " Good morning, Paku!," she greeted the dog without looking at it. " What's that for?," the dog asked, quite angry. " You were planning to come to me and smeared your saliva all over my face, right?," she replied as sat next to Kakashi. The dog was surprised to be caught like that but he made a dignified face, " I wasn't planning to do that!!!." Aoi shrugged, " Ok then. Sorry for the attack." Aoi said curtly, without no guilt whatsoever.

" Why are you here so early in the morning. I thought the meeting started at 9??," Kakshi asked as he scratched his head. Aoi looked at him, her face was serious. " I need your help."

Aoi left Kakashi's apartment after she cooked him breakfast. They made a deal in which Aoi will have to cook breakfast for him before he agrees to do what she asked for. Aoi made quite a lot for Kakashi but she didn't mind. " I asked him to do something quite big. He may have to fight…." She decided she still have some time to spare so she decided to go somewhere else. She headed there with a smile.

As soon as she reached the place, she opted for the window again. But this time it was different. When she entered the room, no booby trap was around and she managed to stand by the bed in no time. He was there, still sleeping with his funny looking night cap. Aoi smiled and headed to the kitchen.

Naruto's nose twitched as he detected a nice and delicious aroma of food. Then, he opened his eyes. Rubbing his eyes, he sat on the bed. Then he saw it. There was a woman in his kitchen, and she was cooking. Somehow, the woman noticed that he had opened his eyes. She turned around and saw him looking at her with his jaw dropped to the ground. " Good morning!!!," she greeted cheerfully and continued cooking.

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. The great Aoi-sama was cooking in his kitchen. He started to check his body. " I don't think I died while on mission. But this must be heaven. This is too good to be true!!!!," he whispered to himself. Then he looked around. He realized he was still in his room. Slowly, he got out from bed and headed towards the kitchen. He sat at the table and watched Aoi as she cooked his breakfast. Sometime, Aoi would turned around and smiled to him. He replied the smile but it was still unbelievable.

After a few minutes of waiting, the breakfast was served in front of him. " Wah!!! Everything seemed so delicious!," Naruto commented. " Doozo!," Aoi smiled. Naruto nodded. " Itadakimasu!!!." With that he took the omelet and ate it the rice. He gulped down the food and exclaimed, " It's delicious!." Aoi smiled in satisfaction. She handed him some water. So Naruto had his delicious breakfast while Aoi watched him ate her cooking with a face full of satisfaction.

After eating, Naruto helped Aoi cleaned the dishes in the kitchen. While he was drying the plates, he blurted out a question he was meaning to ask for a very long time. " Why are you doing this to me? You know, treating me nice and so on???." Aoi stopped washing the plates for a while. She looked at Naruto. As she continue washing the dishes, she said, " I have my reason but I can't tell you yet…. I'm really sorry for that." Naruto nodded and continued with his job. " I'll tell you when the time comes… but I will tell you…," Aoi added after a long silence. Naruto nodded. Then he smiled his cheeky smile and said, " I'll wait…"


	18. Chapter 18

I'm really sorry for the late update. I had the storyline inmy head but I had no time to write it down. Really sorry. Been busy with my study and stuff. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R&R. It meant a lot to me….

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 18: THE MEETING….

Aoi headed toward the administration building. The meeting was supposed to start at 9 but because she didn't want to be late, she was there be by 8.30. She headed towards Tsunade's office to ask something from her. When she entered the room, Tsunade was reading the newspaper. Tsunade didn't look up when Aoi sat in front of her. " So, what's up?," Tsunade asked as she placed the newspaper down. Aoi just shrugged. " Any heads up before I go to the meeting?." Tsunade thought for a while. After a while she shook her head. " Nothing.. You know the drill. They'll try to squeeze everything from you. Maybe Ibiki will do it for them.." Aoi nodded her head slowly. " But I know Ibiki won't be a problem to you. He used to be very nice to you right?." Aoi nodded. " Are you going to tell everything?," Tsunade asked with a very serious face. Aoi looked her into the eyes. Aoi nodded. " I'm going to tell them everything. And hope they'll do the same too….".

Tsunade looked at her ex-student in front of her. She knew that Aoi was a special girl since she first taught her. Tsunade never forget how she had turned away from her. Her student had decided to stop being a medic-nin and became a field ninja. Tsunade admitted that she was quite upset to lose Aoi as her student but she knew she couldn't stop Aoi. No one can stop Aoi from doing anything she wants. After Tsunade gave Aoi the tattoo, she decided to leave the village. Aoi was the only reason she stayed at the village after Dan's death. From that moment, Tsunade never returned to the village. But she knew about what happened to her .

Tsunade was lost in her memories until she didn't realize Aoi was calling her. "Tsunade-sensei.. Are you ok?," Aoi asked in concern. Tsunade gave her a warm smile and said, " We better headed to the meeting place now….." Aoi just nodded and stood up and followed her teacher towards the place where the truth will be revealed.

Aoi stood in front of the big door. Aoi placed her hand on the door handle. Aoi nodded with a determined face. ' I can do this! I'm confirming my past so that I can live the future!.' Aoi pushed her hand forward and the bog door opened. Aoi stood at the door walked into the room when the door was fully opened. She stood in the middle of the room while facing a half sphere table where every important faces in Konoha sat and watched her every move. The Village Councilors were seating in the middle and Tsunade sat near them. There was a chair in front her and she sat there, waiting for the Village Councilors to start the meeting.

" I think all of us are informed what is the objective of our gathering today….," the male Village Councilor started to speak. That was when Aoi raised her hand and said politely, " I'm not really clear about the objective of this gathering. Can you explain what the objective are again?." The male Village Councilors stared at Aoi so Aoi gave him an innocent smile. He sighed. " We're here to determine whether the person sitting in front of us is the real Aoi or just a fake or an enemy…….." Aoi nodded. " And…?????," Aoi continued. The male Village Councilors said nothing. " What are you trying to say, Aoi?," the female Village Councilors interrupt. Aoi shrugged. " When it is confirmed that I am Aoi, I want the Village Councilors to answer my questions…..," Aoi explained. No one said anything. " That will be brought into consideration, depending what your questions are..," the male Village Coucilors finally answered. Aoi nodded slowly, though it was clear that she wasn't satisfied. " Let's start ok?," Tsunade interrupted them.

" State your name and number….," the male Village Councilor started asking questions. " Aoi 010900……," Aoi answered curtly. Starting from that point, the environment had turned into a very tense one. After the Village Councilors finished with their questions, they gave chances towards the other to ask Aoi question. " It would be a very nice thing to do if you could ask her about things that had happened between you and Aoi and only the real Aoi knew the answer to the question," the female Village Councilor told the crowd. Tsunade was the first to ask the question. It wasn't because she was skeptical of Aoi but she wanted to help Aoi convinced the crowd that the woman standing in front of them was the real Aoi.

" Can you tell me why I gave you the ' Tenshi' tattoo at your neck?." Aoi rubbed the tattoo. " This? You gave it to me when I told you that I wanted to stop being a medic-nin and that I wanted to change my status to field ninja…." Tsunade looked at the Councilors and nodded, confirming Aoi's answer. After that, everyone was excited to ask Aoi questions and they started asking her questions.

Suddenly, a ninja stood up and started, " I was one of the ninja who was present after The Fourth sealed the Kyuubi, when he was…erm… dying…. Can you tell me what was his last words to you?." Tsunade quickly turned around and gave the ninja a death glare. "I think it's inappropriate to talk about the tragedy," Tsunade told the Councilors hoping they would rejected the question. The Councilors looked at each other. " It's okay Tsunade sensei. I'll answer the question if it can make them believe that I'm the real Aoi," Aoi said to Tsunade, accepting the question calmly.

" He apologized to me because he can't no longer be with me, fight with me, have babies with me and grow old together like we promised. That's what he said to me the day he died. That was his last words to me….," Aoi let out a big sigh of relief, feeling proud of herself because she could talk about the tragedy. The ninja quickly added, " I'm sorry if I had offended you with that question, Aoi-sama. But if you can answer that correctly, I think no one should doubt that you're the real Aoi-sama….." The ninja looked towards the Village Councilors as he spoke. Aoi appreciated what the ninja had said and gave him a smile. " Thank you for your thoughtful words…." The Village Councilors finally said, " As the young man had said, I think that we have no more doubt that the woman standing in front of us is indeed Aoi though her appearance doesn't make any sense……" Tsunade snorted but it was ignored by the Village Councilors. " I now pronounce that Aoi is indeed a ninja of Konoha and she is prepared to be given responsibility and trust once again…." Aoi nodded.

The Village Councilors was about to leave when Aoi called them. " I think you owe me answers for my questions….." The Village Councilors ignored her and walked out of the meting place. " We don't have answers to your questions. You have to find it yourself……."


	19. Chapter 19

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 19 : FIRST MISSION….

Aoi was stunned to hear what the Village Councilors had said but she recovered when lots of people came to her to congratulate and welcome her back. Aoi just smiled and thanked the people who had welcomed her back. She wanted to go after the Village Councilors but the crowd had stopped her from doing so she decided to meet the Village Councilors tomorrow. " I still have another meeting with them tomorrow….".

Aoi walked into Tsunade's office after the meeting. " You called me?," she asked as she stepped into the room. Tsunade's face was serious. " Sit down, Aoi," she commanded. Aoi sat down but there was no smile on her face. She knew something bad had happened. " It's Kakashi….," Tsunade started. Aoi waited for her to continue. " It seemed like he was involved in a fight and he had hurt himself quite badly. Not life threatening but serious…." Aoi nodded. " Can I go and see him now? " she asked politely. Tsunade sighed and nodded.

As soon as she got out of the office, Aoi walked quickly towards the hospital. She knew Kakashi was hurt when he was doing the things she had asked him to do this morning. She arrived at the hospital a few minutes later. She asked the receptionist for Kakashi and she showed her his room. Aoi entered the room slowly. Kakashi was sleeping but he woke up when he realized Aoi was there. " You should go back to sleep. You need to rest…," Aoi told him gently. Kakashi nodded but he didn't closed his eyes, he just stared at the ceilng. " I couldn't found her. They told me she died 3 years ago. Killed by the bandits…." Aoi nodded. " How come you got hurt? Who did you fought with?," Aoi asked as she stood up and walked to the window. Kakashi shrugged. " Didn't get to see him. He was wearing a mask. He wasn't so strong but I got careless….." Aoi said nothing. " I'm sorry.. I should have gone myself…," Aoi sighed heavily.

" I wanted to help but I've promised not to tell. So, this is the least I can do for you," Kakashi tried to comfort Aoi. He knew she was feeling guilty for the injury he had attained while he was out looking for information that she asked. He knew how Aoi always blame herself when someone got hurt. Aoi nodded slowly. " I'll go there. Maybe I can find the person who did this to you. See you in a while….," she said as she vanished with a puff of smoke. Kakashi opened his mouth to stop her but she was already gone. " Be careful…," Kakashi murmured to the wind.

Aoi headed towards her apartment to pack her supply for the trip. " What is it?," she suddenly blurted. The ANBU who was approaching her window was surprised she could detect him. " Hokage-sama asked for you. There's a mission for you…." Aoi stopped packing her supply and looked up. " Already? That was fast…," she muttered to herself. The ANBU bowed and leaved. Aoi headed to Tsunade's office when she finished packing.

" Pack your stuff… You got a mission…," Tsunade commanded as Aoi entered her office. " Already did. But what mission?," Aoi asked as she sat on the chair in front of Tsunade. " We have a report of an appearance of a S-rank criminal. So, I'm sending you to get rid of him." Aoi nodded. "Don't worry. He's strong but you'll beat him in no time. Think of it as a warm-up session for your next missions." Aoi said nothing. Tsunade handed her a scroll, "Here's the mission information. You'll go tomorrow at dawn." Aoi took the scroll. " What about my meeting with the Village Councilors tomorrow?," she asked as took a glance at the scroll. " I'll tell them later. If they can't wait, I'll tell them what you've told me…," Tsunade replied. Aoi nodded and headed back to her apartment to prepare for her mission tomorrow.


	20. Chapter 20

BlLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 20 : THE DAY I LOST EVERYHTING…

When Aoi reached her apartment, she sat at the sofa and started reading the scroll. "Quite an easy mission. I'll finish it early and headed to that place. Maybe I'll find who hurt Kakashi and then maybe I can find her. She was there when I gave birth. She was the one who told me my son had died. Maybe she knows the truth…."

(flashback)

Aoi was at the hospital. Most of the ninja were outside, fighting with Kyuubi. Even her husband was out there fighting. She wished that she could go and fight with them but she was 9 months pregnant. She knew she would only be a burden than a help if she go out ot fight in her condition. So she decided to stay at the hospital and helped the wounded ninja. She knew she couldn't do much with her limited power at that time but she would like to help. Her past experience as a medic-nin might be helpful to help those who was wounded. had been there since 2 hours ago and she just finished treating a female ninja that was cut badly. She had used her chakura to stop her bleeding and cured fatal injury.

" You should be resting, Aoi-sama. You look tired. You've used up quite an amount of chakura…," a medic-nin advised her when she saw her. Aoi just smiled and shook her head. " I'm fine. I just want to help them…" The medic-nin knew Aoi won't stop so she said, " I think you better go to the rest room and rest for a while. Wait for your chakura to return a bit before continue helping us here…" Aoi was about to object but the medic-nin was pulling her hand and taking her to the rest room so she just followed her.

They stopped in front of the rest room. " Get some sleep, ok? I'll wake you up if we have any emergency…," the medic-nin said gently as she opened the door. Aoi nodded and she was about to step into the room when she suddenly realized. " Oh, my water just broke…," she murmured to herself. " What?," the medic-nin didn't catch what Aoi said. Aoi turned around and told her, " My water just broke. I'm going to deliver my baby…"

The medic-nin gasped in horror. She quickly yelled to one of the nurse to bring the wheelchair. Aoi sat on the wheelchair and she was wheeled into the labor room. The medic-nin looked a little panic but Aoi was calm. She knew things would go smoothly and nothing would go wrong. And she never expected that was the moment in her life when things started to go terribly wrong.

Aoi was grimacing from the pain. The pain was too much and unbearable but she keep pushing until she heard her baby's cry. When she heard the baby's cry, she smiled with satisfaction though she was still in pain. " I want to see my..." That was when she passed out. She had used too much chakura went she treated the wounded ninja. The labor had taken all her energy and she was exhausted. That caused her to faint after she gave birth.

Aoi woke up about an hour later in a room. "Where's my baby?," she asked the nurse who was by her bed, checking on her. Aoi sat up and she frowned when she felt the pain. The nurse gave her a sympathetic look. " I'm sorry Aoi-sama but your baby didn't make it. He died right after birth." Aoi was horrified to hear what the nurse had said. " No..no.. But I heard him… His cry….," she was shaking her head furiosly, unwilling to accept the fact that her son had died. The nurse shook her head and left the room. "I'm sorry…," she said as she closed the door and left Aoi to be alone. Aoi put both of her hand on her ear, trying to shut out what the nurse had said as she shook her head in disbelief. Tears were brimming as she tried to deny what she just heard. But then the reality sank. She knew that she had lost her son. " Argh!!!! No!!!!!!!," she shouted and the tears ran down her face. She cried her heart out, thinking about the thing that she had lost when she thought she already had it in her arms.

Aoi was sitting on the bed. She was gazing outside the window, her gaze was blank. She stopped crying a while ago and she was calmer. Now, she just gazed outside, thinking about her son that she didn't even get to see. At that time she realized that she still haven't seen him. Her son. Even if he's dead, she wanted to see his body. With some effort, Aoi managed to get out form the bed. Her body was still in pain and she was still weak but she wanted to see her son. That was when a ninja burst in and shouted. " Aoi-sama!!!! I need you to come with me. It's the Fourth……" Before he could say anything, Aoi was already out of the room, heading to where the battle had taken place.

She was running through the forest. Her heart was beating fast from the running and the fear and anticipation. " No! You can do this to me!!!! You can't take my husband and my son in one day!!! It's not fair. Please let him be alright! Please let him lives!!! I don't think I can't take it if anything happens to him… I don't think I can live if he's not with me…."

That was what she was thinking, praying all the way. Unfortunately, her prayer wasn't answered……..


	21. Chapter 21

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 21: SLEEPING BEAUTY.

The next morning, Aoi woke up earlier than usual and checked her supply. After she finished checking, she leaved her apartment and headed towards the gate. When she was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, she thought about Naruto so she decided to take a de tour and stopped by Naruto's apartment.

Aoi climbed through the window. She squatted at the window as she watched Naruto who was sleeping soundly. She smiled when she saw him. She stayed for a while before she continued her journey for her mission, smiling as she remembered Naruto's sleeping face. " Just like him……," she murmured to herself.

Tsunade was walking towards the meeting room. Aoi was supposed to meet the Council but she had sebd her on her mission. It was on purpose. Tsunade would like Aoi to stay away from the Council so she sent her out for a mission. It would buy her some time to discuss with the Council on what they should do about Aoi. She went into the room without knocking. Both of the Village Councilors were clearly surprised to see her instead of Aoi. " We were supposed to meet Aoi, not you Tsunade," one of them announced. " I know but I just sent her out on a mission….," Tsunade replied as she took the seat in front of the Councilors. " Then we should wait for her to come back…," the male Councilors suggested. " But I assumed you have something to discuss with us. About Aoi, no?," he continued. Tsunde smiled, " Very wise of you." " So, start talking…," the female Councilors told Tsunade.

" Ok, first, let me told you what Aoi told me. About what happen to her…," Tsunade started. Both of the Councilors nodded, listening carefully. " Long story short, she was Sleeping Beauty," Tsunade shrugged. The Councilors raised their eyebrow, not understanding what Tsunade had said. Tsunade noticed this so she started to explain. " After she gave birth, she headed towards where the Fourth was. There, she used up all of her chakura to save him. She died there. That was what all of us assumed… well sort of. She did die but not really dead. That's what I think since I wasn't there and all…" The Councilors were shaking their head and was giving Tsunade a weird look.

Tsunade noticed and she raised her hand. " I'll explain. After she had gave birth, one of the nurse had given her some sort of drug. The drug was supposed to slow your heartbeat and at one time stop it. But after certain period of time, the drug would stimulate the heart and it would beat normally again. In short, she was revived. But since there was no good medic-nin like me at that time, no one realized this. And her body was stolen. So, she was presumed dead." The Councilors nodded.

" I assumed that wasn't the 'Sleeping Beauty' part," the female Councilors uttered. Tsunade smirked. " That was the part where the Princess was kidnapped: Her body was stolen from this village. I don't know by whom of why. But they didn't woke her up. They made sure she stayed in coma. After she was kidnapped, she was taken to some sort of facilities where they had done something to her. That would explained her stopped growth. She stayed in the sleep-like condition for about 10 years. Aoi told me one day, one of the researcher had overdosed the drug, causing her to wake up. Being in coma had weaken her so she had to stay for physiotherapy. She said the people there gave her quite a good treatment. She stayed there for a while, trying to revive her physical ability and power before she managed to escape. She was hunted down but she had recovered all her ability back so it wasn't a problem anymore. That was when she bumped into Team7." Tsunade ended her explanation with a sigh.

Neither of the Councilors said nothing. " Quite a far-fetched story..," the male Councilor expressed his opinion. The female one nodded, signaling her agreement. Tsunade nodded slowly. " I know. I was skeptical too at first but we all know Aoi. She won't lie to us. Beside, there's no point lying and if you think about it carefully, I kinda make sense…," Tsunade pointed out.

" What have you found when you checked her?," Tsunade replied at once. " Nothing weird. Except for the part that her body is 20 years old. Her body stopped growing before this but it started to grow like normal again. I think the drug effect was gone. As far as now, I think the drug has no side effect on her….."

" Sleeping Beauty…..," the female Councilors murmured. " But this Sleeping Beauty had lost her price charming. And she's determined to find answers about her past…." Tsunade looked up, staring at the two Councilors sitting in front of her.

" You know we can't tell her. We made a promise to the Third and Fourth……," the male Councilors replied, understanding what Tsunade was trying to say. Tsunade sighed. She knew they would said that. She knee anyone who knew the secret would say that. " I know. We're in a tough spot here. We can't tell her but if we don't, who know what will happen..."

" From now on, if anything happens, quickly consult us. This is a very delicate and complicated so we must handle it with care…..," the male Councilors announced strictly. Tsunade nodded and she walked out of the meeting room. She knew the Councilors were feeling like what she was feeling right now. They wanted to tell her the secret, the answer that she had been looking for but the promise the made had stopped them from doing so.

She just hoped that the Councilors could fine a solution as fast as possible cause she knew Aoi won't wait for the answer. She knew Aoi was willing to do anything to find the answer. And she knew Aoi won't stop at nothing unless she finds the answer. She can say that with confidence cause she just knew it. She knew Aoi….


	22. Chapter 22

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 22: SLEEPING BEAUTY AND PRINCE CHARMING.

Once upon a time, there was a Princess who lives a village. She was beautiful and kind-hearted so the villagers really like her. She was also strong and intelligent so she could win a lot of battles. But she preferred peace than war so she only fights when she had to and when problem could no longer solved in a peaceful manner.

One day, the Princess met her Prince Charming. They met when Prince Charming had saved her life while she was saving a little frog. Later, she saved his life by taking care of him when he had won a battle with a big frog. Since that day, they grew closer.

The Prince Charming and Princess always fight with each other over small things. But their fights don't last long cause they knew it was their way of communicating with each other; their way of saying that they loved each other.

One day, the Princess's brother died while he tried he was on a mission. The Princess was very sad but the Prince stayed by her side, comforting her, making sure she was able to cope with the sadness of losing a brother that she loved so much. The Prince stayed by her side and supported her when she told him she wanted to change her path. To change her path, she had to face the wrath of her teacher. Her teacher finally agreed but she left the village. The Princess was disappointed but the Prince stayed by her side all the way; through thick and thin. The Princess managed to do things the way she wanted it to be.

The Prince had a dream to become the strongest warrior in the village. Everyone had doubt in him, thinking he was young and don't have enough experience. But the Princess supported him the way he supported her. She never had doubt in him; always encourage him to pursue his dream. The Prince finally achieved his dream. They were both happy for each other. They both knew they were meant to be together; to be by each other side, smile, and laugh and cry together.

The Prince knew he had found his Princess so one day, during sunset, at the place where they first met, he proposed her. And the Princess knowing the man who proposed her was her Prince, accepted the proposal. They got married soon after that they lived happily together.

Their happiness was soon multiple when the Princess was pregnant with their first child. Both the Prince and the Princess was very happy and excited. They made lots of plan for their child. Their bond was stronger than before. Nothing could do them apart. Only death….

The Princess's happiness was reaped away from her when she knew her baby had died during birth. She was depressed but she knew she had her Prince. She knew that life would be just fine if her Prince stayed by her side. She knew that she would outgrow the sadness and have lots of babies with her Prince. She knew nothing could go wrong with her life. She thought she knew……

She lost her Prince. She lost her baby. She lost her life. She lost the light of her life. She lost the pillar that supported her. She lost her heart. That day, she lost everything.

When she had lost everything, the Princess went into a deep sleep. She slept for what she felt an eternity. She waited for her Prince to kiss and wake her up from her long slumber. But her Prince never came. She waited and waited and waited. Her Prince never showed up. Then she remembered. Oh! She had lost her Prince.

When she realized that she had lost her Prince, she cried. She cried in her sleep. Her tears dropped one by one, down her face, from a pair of eye that fluttered furiously to open. But she failed to open her eyes. She tried so hard but she failed. She failed to open her eyes. She was depressed but she won't give up. She had to wake up. She have so many things to do.

She wanted to see her Prince. She wanted to go the places she had been with him. She wanted to see the ring her Prince gave her. She wanted to see their house where filled with memories of time they shared. She wanted to relive her life. She wanted to WAKE UP!!!

The Princess's eyes fluttered. She opened her eyes slowly. At first the sunlight blinded her eyes but when she got used to the light, she opened her eyes wide. And she smiled. Sleeping Beauty had finally woke up. Though without her Prince's kiss, she managed to wake up with her Prince's memories. And she was thankful for that. Although her Prince wasn't by her side, his memories will always be. And that's the only thing that she needed to keep on living. So, the Princess continues to live with her Prince inside her heart…


	23. Chapter 23

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 23: BACK TO THE PAST.

Aoi had already finished her mission. It only took her one day to track down and get rid of the S-rank criminal she was supposed to kill. She considered herself lucky cause tracking down the criminal was quite easy. She had finished with her mission so she decided to head to the small village in the forest where the nurse who was there during her labor used to live.

Aoi was jumping from trees to tress when she heard a little girl's cry. She stopped and strained her ears to determine the location of the cry. After managed to determine the location, she headed there. She reached a river and she saw a little girl. The girl was about 5 years old and she was crying. Aoi approached her knelt in front of her. " Hey… Why are crying?," she asked gently. The little girl looked up and Aoi saw it. Aoi saw the menace in her eyes as she smirked and said, " Got you!."

Aoi jumped back but she wasn't fast enough. Plus, she knelt so close to the little girl that caused her failing to dodge when the little girl threw the needles towards her. There were 5 needles. With her quick movement, she managed to doge 3 of it. The third and the fourth needle hit her at the right shoulder and left leg.

The little girl laughed viciously when she saw that she had hit her target. She thought she had defeated Aoi and she let her guards down. That was when Aoi threw a kunai towards the little girl. Unfortunately, the girl wasn't as fast as Aoi. The kunai hit her at the heart. She was dead by the time she hit the ground.

Aoi tried to stand up but she failed. She sat on the ground, and leaned back to a rock behind her " Poison needles…," she murmured to herself and pulled the needle out. She tried to reach into her pouch to get the antidote but her hand won't move. The poison was stronger and quicker than she thought. She was losing her consciousness by the second. Her eyes were getting heavier and heavier. Before her eyes were completely close, she saw a man was coming towards her. She blacked out.

Aoi opened her eyes slowly. She saw the ceiling made out of wood. She tried remembered what had happened. When she recalled, she shoot up straight. That was when the pain hit her. Her head was spinning the moment she got up and her body was sore. Aoi hold her head, trying to ease the pain.

"You better lie back and rest some more….," a voice called from behind. Aoi turned around slowly. A man was standing at the door. He smiled to her. Aoi's breath was taken away when she saw him. Standing at the door was her husband, alive and smiling at her.


	24. Chapter 24

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 24: SOMEONE I KNOW..

Aoi gasped when she saw what was in front. The man's smile disappeared when he saw her horrified face. He walked towards her and stood by her bed. " Is there's something wrong on my face? You look like you've seen a ghost.?," the guy asked her as he took a chair and placed by her bed. He sat on the stool and looked at Aoi. Aoi wasn't be able to say anything, she just sat there, staring the guy in front of her like an idiot.

The guy waved his hand in front of her. " Hello???." Aoi snapped out of it. She blinked her eyes a few times. " This is the first time we meet right?," she asked him. The guy made a weird face. " Unless you've seen me in your dreams or something, yes, it's the first time..," the guy laughed at his own joke. Aoi heaved a sigh of relief. The guy was surprised by her reaction. " What's wrong?," he asked. Aoi stared at the guy for a very long time before answering. " You look like someone I know…."

Aoi later learned that the guy's name was Shinya. He was the one who saved her when she blacked out by the river. He told him he had brought her back to his village and he had given her the antidote for the poison. Shiya also told her that she was unconscious for almost a week. He then told her that his village is famous for it'd medicine and drugs. That was why they managed to come up with an antidote for the poison. That was when Aoi realized that she was at the nurse's village. She thanked God for giving her an easy way to get to the village though she had to be poisoned first. After talking for a while, Shinya told her he needed to do some things. "I'll come back later to check on you. Rest ok?," he said as he headed to the door. Aoi nodded obediently. Somehow she felt safe being there. No need to hurry about leaving the village.

Suddenly, Shinya stopped at the door. With his back towards her, " You said I look like someone you know right?." " Hmm…," Aoi replied slowly. " He's the man that you love, isn't it?," Shinya asked, turning around a little to see her reaction. Aoi nodded again. But this time, Shinya noticed the sadness in her eyes. Without saying anything further, he left thee room.

Aoi went back to sleep after Shinya left. Her body was still weak and sore because of the poison. But somehow, she felt happy and giddy inside. She knew Shinya is not him. She knew Shinya is not her husband. But she can't deny the fact that Shinya looked exactly like him and she somehow felt like she was seeing her husband all over again. She never forgot the fact that her husband had died. But she couldn't help feeling satisfied.

" Do you know how much I miss you…. I miss you every second of every day…," Aoi murmured as she drifted to sleep. From outside, Shinya who was standing behind the door, overheard what Aoi had said. But he showed no expression on his face. He left when he was sure Aoi had fallen asleep.

Back at the village, Tsunade was getting worried by the seconds. She sat down for a while, then she stood up and walked around her office, after a while, she sat down again. Shizune just watched her doing all that behind her paper works. " Tsunade-sama, are you okay?," she finally asked. Tsunade gave Shizune a forced smile and replied that she was fine. Shizune said nothing and watched Tsunade walked around the office.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Tsunade quickly ordered the person to come in. " So?," she asked curtly.

" Aoi-sama's mission was accomplished. She had killed the criminal and headed back. But on the way, I lost her track and she was no where to be found." Tsunade sighed heavily as she waved the ninja out. " Aoi.. What happen to you??..."

Tsunade told the Village Councilors about Aoi's disappearance. The Village Councilors was troubled to hear the news. " Sending her out on a mission at times like this were bad decision wasn't it?,  
the female Councilors murmured to herself. " Maybe she's not ready for a mission yet…," the male Councilors replied. Tsunade said nothing. She was confident Aoi was ready to carry out a mission. " I have faith in my decision. She was more than ready to carry out a mission. I think something had happened and she wasn't be able to return…"

" Are you trying to say whoever kidnapped her before is out to get her again?," the female Councilors stated. Tsunade didn't replied. " It's a possibility…," the male Councilors blurted. " I'm planning to send out a search team." Both of the Village Councilors looked and each other and looked at Tsunade. They both nodded.


	25. Chapter 25

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 25: THE GOOD OLD DAYS.

Aoi stayed at Shinya's house during her recovering period. She soon found out that Shinya live with his mother. His mother was a kind old woman. She wasn't so healthy so Shinya helped with most of the housework. When Aoi was able to walk and some ofher energy had returned, she helped with the household.

That morning, Aoi woke up as usual and she headed to the garden to water the plant. Shinya came out a few minutes after and told her he was going to the forest to gather herbs. " Can I come?," Aoi blurted. She was eager to learn more about medicating herbs. She was hoping she could teach what she learned to the ninja in Konoha so that the knowledge can be used to save people's life. Shinya was skeptic at first. " I don't know about this.. you should be resting…," he protested gently. But after Aoi convinced him, he allowed her to follow him.

They walked in the forest slowly. Aoi was looking around, absorbing what she saw and tried to identify the herbs she saw. At one time, Aoi stopped walking and stood silently for a while. Her face was frowning. She squatted down and observed the herb in front of her. Aoi watched the plant for a very long time. " Argh!! I can't remember your name…," she said to the flower. Aoi pressed her index finger to her lips. She was thinking hard.

Shinya laughed when he saw her face. Aoi looked up to him. " What? What's so funny?." Shinya couldn't stop laughing. He was laughing his head off. When he stopped, Aoi was standing in front of him with an nnoyed face. " Fininshed??," she sounded annoyed. Shinya nodded, still smiling. " So, can you tell me the name of that herb," she pointed to the plant she observed before.

Shinya shrugged. " I don't know..,: he replied and turned around, continue their walk. Aoi stood there in disbelief. Then she dashed into a run and smacked behind Shinya's head as she ran past him. " What was that all about?." Shinya shouted when he recovered from the shock of being smacked behind the head. " You dare to laugh at me while you don't even know the name? That's what you got!!!," Aoi shouted as she ran in front of Shinya. Shinya dashed into a run when he heard her answer. " I'm gonna get you for that!!!," he screamed as he ran after her. Aoi smirked. " Catch me if you can!," she shouted and disappeared from his view.

Shinya stopped into a halt. " Oh, I forgot she's a ninja," he told himself as he looked at the trees in front of him. There was no sign of Aoi. " Aoi! Come out! I give up! How could I possibly beat a ninja?," he shouted. No answer. Shinya turned and looked around. He was walking at looking for her at the same time. " Aoi!!! Come out!!," he shouted in despair.

Aoi was sitting on the tree as she watched Shinya looked around for her. She cupped her mouth with her hand to sniffle her giggle. She was very amused by his reaction. " That served you right for laughing at me before…," she murmured to herself as she was smiling and continue watching Shinya who was looking for her.

Shinya sighed as he sat on a rock. He gave up looking for Aoi. But somehow, he got a feeling that Aoi was watching him. He also had a bad feeling that Aoi was laughing at him. And he was right, Aoi was sitting on a tree nearby and she was giggling as she saw Shinya sat on the rock, clearly tired after looking around.

Aoi stopped giggling when she saw Shinya sudden;y fell to the ground. At first she waited to see if he was just kidding around. But when he didn't get up, she panicked and quickly headed to him. When she reached him, she knelt by his side as she shook his body. " Shinya! Shinya! Wake up! Talk to me!," she called him in panic as she shook his body.

Aoi turned around to run to the village to get help. She had her back towards Shinya when suddenly, Shinya got up and hugged her by the waist. " Got you! Now you can't run away!," he laughed as he was holding her. Aoi was astounded, her eyes were wide. Shinya didn't realized Aoi's reaction since she had her back towards him. Shinya continued laughing as he commented on how brilliant of him to think of the trick. Aoi was stunned. She said nor did anything. " It felt like déjà vu….."

(flashback)

" You can't catch me!!!," Aoi yelled as she was running in front of him. He smirked. " You know I can and I will..," he shouted back as he increased his speed. Aoi decided that she can't won him if it was involving speed. Both of them were fast so she decided to use tricks.

Aoi dashed into a run and within seconds, she was out of the view. He came to a halt.

That was their game. 'Catch Me If You Can' was what they called it. One person run, and the other try to catch the running person. And they took turns of the running and catching person. They always do it in the forest. That day, it was Aoi's turn to run and his turn to catch.

He looked around, straining his ear, paying attention to even the slightest movement. Aoi can saw him from where she was hiding. Now, it had turned into a game of Hide and Seek. Aoi watched him as he turned around to where she was hiding. She knew he had found her so she started to run.

Aoi had lost him for her sight but she knew he won't give up that easily. Neither of them would. She turned to the left and jumped around on the trees. Then, she saw him. He was underneath a tree, looking around for her. Aoi smirked. She just loved it to see him like that.

Out of the sudden, he felt to the ground. Without no sound, he just felt to the ground. Aoi didn't move. She waited to see his reaction. She knew it was his trick to catch her. He did it once. And she lmost fell for it. Aoi started to worry when she saw he wasn't moving. Last time, he got up when she didn't come out from hiding.So, she dashed towards him. She knelt by him and turned him around. She had him facing her when she noticed a trail of blood that was coming from his mouth. Aoi started to panic. She shook his body, calling his name but he didn't answer back.

Aoi stood up and looked around. She was trying to look for something to help him. She turned around and was about to walk to the nearby river when she felt his arms around her wrist. " Got you! I told you I would gotcha!!!," he laughed. Aoi turned around to see him, his hand still around her waist. She was relieved to see him standing in front of her, smiling. Then only she realized she was tricked.

" You tricked me!!," she yelled to his face. He replied it with a wider smile. Aoi put her finger on the blood and brought it in front of her face. " Ketchup..," he blurted and licked it from her finger, his hands never left her waist. Aoi said nothing. " I was worried sick you know," she murmured, her head was down.

He stopped smiling. He pulled her towards him and hugged her. " I'm sorry. That was a stupid way to win…," he confessed. Aoi nodded. " Glad you noticed." He said nothing. Aoi broke the hug and looked him right into the eye. " Don't do that ever again, ok?," she warned him. He nodded with a grin and kissed her cheek. " Let's go home.. I need to cook dinner..," Aoi curled her hand around his waist. He put his hand on her shoulder and they headed home. They had enough game for that day. " I'll cook dinner tonight. To make up for what I did," he offered as they walked out from the forest. " Ok, but make sure you don't the kitchen down…."

(end of flashback)

Shinya stopped laughing when he noticed Aoi said nothing. He let go of her waist. Aoi didn't turned to him. " I better get back.. I forgot I have some things to do..," she murmured to him without turning to him and started to walk away. Shinya said nothing. Aoi walked outside from the forest. " That shouldn't happened…, Stupid Aoi.." she scolded herself. " That was my memory with him. How could I tainted it by doing the same thing with someone else?????."

Shinya watched her from afar. He knew he had reminded her of something sad. Shinya smirked. " Part One completed….," he murmured to himself with pride and walked the opposite way. " She'll soon be mine…."

That evening, Shinya's mother, Natsumi was cooking dinner while Aoi was watering the plant at the backyard. Shinya stii hasn't returned. Aoi had finished watering the plant and she was closing the tap when she heard someone was coughing badly. Aoi quickly headed inside the house and went to the kitchen.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw Natsumi was coughing by the sink. Aoi went to her and holding her shoulder to support he. " Are you ok, Natsumi-basan? Let's go to your bedroom. You need to rest." Aoi helped Natsumi to get on the bed. Aoi then headed to the kitchen and took a glass of water and her medicine. She came back to the bedroom and helped Natsumi to eat her medicine.

" I… have to cook.. dinner. Sinya will be.. back soon. He'll be very hungry when he's back," she said as her eyes very closing. After a while, she felt asleep. Aoi looked at the old woman who was resting in front of her. " Still worried about her son…," she murmured to herself. That was when she realized something. " I haven't meet Naruto in quite some time….. I should be going back as soon as I'm healed…" Her face fell when she remembered what happened in the forest that morning. " I shouldn't be here for too long…"

Aoi entered the kitchen and picked up where Natsumi had left off. She had rough ideas about what Natsumi had planned to cook. She was so caught up into preparing the dinner that she didn't noticed Shinya had came back and he was leaning at the kitchen's door, watching her cook.

" Where's mother?," he asked after watching Aoi for a while. Aoi wasn't surprised by his question. She didn't notice him coming in but she noticed him leaning by the door. " She resting in her room. Oh, you can call her now. Dinner's ready..," she announced as she placed plates on the dining table.

Shinya nodded but he didn't leave immediately. He stared at Aoi who was placing the food on the table. Aoi noticed Shinya was staring at her but she pretended like she was busy with the food. Deciding that Aoi won't look at him, he left to call his mother.

The three of them had seated at the table, preparing to eat. Shinya was the first one to eat. Natsumi chewed slowly. Aoi didn't lift her head, she just kept staring at the plate in front of her as she ate. " Thank for cooking the dinner..," Natsumi thanked Aoi. Aoi looked at her and just shook head with a smile. " It was nothing…" Shinya looked at Aoi. " You're a good cook," he commented as he swallowed his food. Aoi smiled reluctantly, without no reply.

They ate in silence when suddenly Aoi blurted, " I plan to go back to my village tomorrow." Natsumi put down her chopstick slowly. Shinya stopped eating, clearly surprised by Aoi's decision. "Tomorrow? So fast? When did you decided?," he asked in concern, soft of panicking.

" I though about it when I was preparing dinner." Shinya stared at Aoi but replied nothing. He was worried. " You can go back! You haven't healed completely.." he objected impatiently. " I know. But I'm strong enough to go back on my own..," Aoi explained. Natsumi nodded, agreeing with Aoi. " You can go back now!!," Shinya half-shouted.

Aoi and Natsumi both looked at Shinya, puzzled by his tone. " And why is that?," Aoi asked patiently as she looked at Shinya who was squirming with worry. " Because.. because…," Shinya wasn't able to give an explanation. Suddenly he remembered." Ah! Because we have our moon festival tomorrow!!! You must stay for the festival?? It's very rare!!!," he explained excitedly, as if finding a solution to his problem. " You can go back the day after tomorrow..," Natsumi suggested to Aoi.

Aoi was about to turn down the offer but Natsumi and Shinya's face was filled with such high hope, she didn't have the heart to reject. Aoi let out a sigh and smile. " Why not? I'll stay for the festival. I'll go back the day after tomorrow." Her decision was accepted by Natsumi with a wide smile and by Shinya with an even wider smile.

Aoi was wahing the dishes and Shinya helped her dried the dishes. Natsumi was in her room, resting. Shinya had ordered her to go to rest after dinner. There was an awkward silence as they do the dishes. "You're awfully quiet today..," Aoi tried to start a conversation. " Yeah.. Quite tired about the preparation for the festival," he replied with lack of interest. Aoi just nodded. "Why were you panicked when I said I wanted to back tomorrow?," Aoi asked boldly.

Shinya stared down at the dishes. " I.. Well… I want you to go to the moon festival… Like I said before." Aoi looked at Shinya, as if waiting for him to tell the truth. But since Shinya said nothing, Aoi continued her work. Aoi quickly went into her room after they finished washing the dishes.

Shinya let out a sigh of relief when he saw Aoi went to her room. "Change of plan. Can't wait anymore…Part 2 had to be done tomorrow…."


	26. Chapter 26

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 26: THE SEARCH TEAM.

Tsunade summoned the search team to her office in the morning. She had decided to send a search team after Aoi. The Councilors had agreed with her idea so she was planning to send the team as fast as possible. Tsunade spent a night thinking who should go after Aoi and after giving it a lot of thought, she decided to send 3 people. And she had selected the ninja who was close to Aoi. She knew choosing those people colud be risky as hey could be too emotional but she knew emotions were needed to find Aoi. Aoi had been missing for almost 3 weeks. Fast action had to be taken.

Tsunade waited until 3 of the ninja had entered her office. " I think you know why I called you," she started as she look at the three ninja stood in front of her. " What happened to her?," Naruto asked. Tsunade looked at the youngest member of the search team. " She went out for a mission 3 weeks ago. Didn't come back. According to the investigation unit, she had finished her mission on the first day…" They nodded. " Last trace?," Kakashi asked Tsunade curtly. He had healed from his injury a week ago which was why Tsunade had allowed him to join the search team. " By a river."

" What do you think happened to her?," the last member of the team asked the Fifth Hokage. Tsunade looked at the third member for quite a long time. She never expected that he would apply to join the search team. Tsunade didn't even know the relationship between him and Aoi that would made him join the search team. " I think whoever who kidnapped her 12 years ago is back. To get her..," Tsunade explained. He nodded, understanding what Tsunade had said. He had heard about what happened to Aoi.

"I think everything's clear. You'll go at dawn. Kakashi, Naruto and Yamato! Your mission is to track down Aoi and bring her back!!!," she commanded. "Yes, madam!," they shouted in unison. When Tsunade gave them the signal to dismiss, the three of them headed out. Naruto told them he needed to go and meet Sakura and Sasuke so he left. "I don't know why you applied to join the team..," Kakashi asked Yamato as he watched Naruto disappeared from his view. Yamato sighed. "I heard about what happened to her. Kinda know what she's going through. So, I decided to help. Beside, I could control Naruto if anything happen. He'll likely be more emotional considering it's involving Aoi-sama." Kakashi nodded in approval, satisfied with Yamato's explanation.

"Do you think Orochimaru was the one who kidnapped her and did the research?," Kakashi inquired. Yamato though for a while. "Hmm.. I don't think so…" Kakashi was interested in his answer. "Why is that?." Yamato shrugged. "It's simple. If it was Orochimaru, Aoi-sama won't come back her safely. We might be thinking that she's dead and don't have any idea that she's still alive. That's how Orochimaru handles his research…"

Naruto went to see Sakura and Sasuke. One of Tsunade's assistant had called him during their training but Naruto didn't have the chance to explain. They ate at Naruto's favorite ramen shop as Naruto told them why he was called by Tsunade. They nodded when they heard his explanation. "Make sure you don't cause trouble to Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei!!!," Sakura warned Naruto as they waved goodbye. "Don't get yourself killed," was all that Sasuke said.

Naruto heahed back to his apartment. He packed his stuff and went to bed early. He had to admit that he missed Aoi. Not seeing her around for almost 3 weeks had made him feel incomplete. Naruto really wished that they could find her quickly. He knew it wasn't only him, others started to miss Aoi too.


	27. Chapter 27

BLOND HAIR.

CHAPTER 27: THE MOON FESTIVAL.

Aoi woke up that morning feeling fresh and high-spirited. She started to pack her stuff and placed it on the bed. "Would be easier when I'm going back tomorrow," she muttered to herself. She headed towards the kitchen and saw Shinya was cooking breakfast. "Where's Natsumi-basan?," she asked him as she sat at the table. "Resting. I told her to rest the whole day if she wanted to go to the festival…"

Aoi nodded as she reached for the mug in front of her and started to sip her tea. "The festival is at night?," she inquired. Shinya came to the table, place her omelet in front of her. "Unless moon comes out during the day, yes.. it's at night," he turned around to cook his omelet. Aoi was annoyed. "For your information, the moon does comes out during the day. We only can't see it coz the sun is bright, genius..," she replied sarcastically. Shinya turned around and placed his omelet on the table. He sat down opposite Aoi. "How am I supposed to know that? I make medicine not watch the sky." With that, he started to eat and said nothing. Aoi nodded. She knew Shinya was defeated by her words and she was satisfied. She started to eat her breakfast too. 'What a lovely day….'

Aoi went out to the lawn when she had finished her breakfast. She was walking around when she saw Shinya came out. "Where are you going," she asked him when she saw him bringing a box with him. "I need to make reparation for the festival..," he answered. "Can I come?," Aoi asked as she totted behind him. Shinya turned around and stared her. Finally he shrugged. "Why not? I could you some help…."

Kakashi, Yamato and Naruto had left the village for almost 2 hour. They were walking slowly but paying attention to what was happening around them. Naruto wasn't loud at all. They walked in silence. Kakashi who was puzzled with Naruto's silence tried to start a conversation. "You're quiet today, Naruto." Naruto just nodded, saying nothing as reply. Kakashi and Yamato looked at each other. Yamato was thinking the same thing.

" Do you think she's alright? I mean Aoi-sama?..," Naruto suddenly blurted. Kakashi nodded. "Usually when a ninja went missing for almost 3 weeks, the chances are quite slim. But…." Yamato interrupted. "But Aoi-sama is not just 'a ninja'. She's strong and smart. She'll be alright." Naruto nodded slowly, hoping and praying what Yamato said was right.

Aoi had finished hanging the decoration. When they reached the center of the village, Shinya told her to help hang the decoration while he went to help set up the tent. Aoi looked around. Everyone was busy with the preparation and all of them had a smile plastered on their face. Aoi smiled to herself. Seeing the villagers made her remembered her own. "I miss Konoha…" But when she walked around, the sad feeling vanished as she talked and helped the villagers. 'I'll be back tomorrow….'

The night finally came. Aoi had returned to the house to freshen up. When she finished and headed towards the living room, she saw Natsumi was already waiting. Natsumi seemed energetic and she seemed very excited about the festival. "You're ready?," she asked Aoi when she saw her entered the living room. Aoi nodded and together they headed to the center of the village.

Aoi gasped when they reached the center of the village. The scenery was different form what she last remembered. They were no bright lights or firework like she had expected. She thought the 'Moon Featival' would be the same to the festivals celebrated in Konoha but she was wrong. The villager were sitting underneath a big tent. At the center of the tent there was a hole where the moonlight went through and showered the tent. It was as breath taking view. It wasn't dark since the moonlight was so bright and they didn't even need to use any light.

Natsumi pulled her hand and they went inside the tent. They found an empty table and took their seat. After a while, Shinya came to join them. "What do you think?," Shinya asked Aoi who was looking around. "It's really beautiful…" Aoi praised as she looked admiringly at the center of the tent. Underneath where the moon shone in, the villager had placed beads of crystals. Those crystals shone like diamond underneath the moonlight.

They were chatting when an old man went out and stood at the center. "That's the Chief," Natsumi told Aoi. The Chief cleared his throat before he started talking. "Friends, tonight is the night to celebrate. So, I shall no bored you with long speeches. But before we start the dance, I would like to welcome our guest, Aoi to our 'Moon Festival." Aoi stood up as the villager clapped. "As an honour, we would like you to start the dance….." Aoi was taken aback. She knew nothing about the dance. "No… It wouldn't be nice.. Never mind.. You all go ahead. I'll join later..," she tried to turn down the offer gently. The Chief shook his head. "But we insisted….."

Aoi opened her mouth to object but the villagers were clapping and calling her hand. "I don't know the dance…..," she whispered to herself as she looked around. Out of the blue, she felt someone pulled her hand. It was Shinya. Swiftly, she pulled her hand and headed towards the center of the tent. "Shinya! What are you doing. I don't know how to dance!!," she said through gritted teeth, at the same time smiling at the villager who had stood up and applauded loudly.

Shinya turned to her as they were walking and smiled. "Don't worry!!! Just follow me..," he said cheerfully. Aoi was amazed. At that time, Shinya looked just like him.

(flashback)

He was pulling her hand, asking her to follow him. "Where are we going??? It's 2 in the morning…," she asked him, quite annoyed when he suddenly burst into her apartment and pulled her out of her bed, asking her change her pajamas and follow him. He didn't answered. " Wait… Where…," she pulled back her hand but he was holding her hand tightly. They stopped. He turned around and said to her with the big smile of his. "Don't worry!! Just follow me. You won't regret it…."

Aoi knew she couldn't do anything when she saw those smile. "But I'm tired. I don't want to walk any further..," she whined. He stared at her for a while then smirked. "Ok.. You don't have to walk…" "What… Woah…" Aoi was swept out of her feet in no time. Now, he was carrying her. Aoi curled her hand around his neck, looking for balance. He continued walking. "You can out me down. I'm heavy….," Aoi told him. He shook his head. "Nonsense. If I put you down, you would run away…." Aoi smirked. "So, you're going to carry me until we reach there? Just so that I wouldn't run away???," she asked, teasing. "

If it's to make sure you won't run away from me, I'll carry you forever if I have to," he replied as he smiled at her. Aoi blushed. "What if you're the one who run away from me?," Aoi tried to cover her read face. " I won't..," he replied curtly. "What if…," Aoi tried again. "No what if. I won't. Never. I'm chained to you…." Aoi didn't replied. She knew he didn't answer the question but she was satisfied.

He put her down when they reached the place. They were at the waterfall. The water fall where they first met. "Why here? We come her all the time..," Aoi asked him after she looked around. "Tonight is different. Watch carefully…," he whispered to her. Aoi sighed and started to watch. Her breath was taken away when she saw the waterfall. Like he said it was different that night. It was the moonlight that made the waterfall more beautiful that she had ever saw.

"It's beutfiul…," she whispered as she walked towards the waterfall and stood by the river bed. He followed her and stood behind her. He curled his hand around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder. "It's beautiful, isn't it??," he whispered to her ear as he pulled her close to him. "Hmm….," Aoi replied and caressed his hand. They stayed like that for a while.

"Let's dance..," he asked her as he let her go and turned her body towards him. "Dance? Here? Ok..," Aoi nodded. "Not here.. There…," his eyes pointed into the river. Aoi looked at the river before nodding and pulled his hand. They went into the river. "It's cold..," Aoi commented. She stopped walking when the water reached her chest. "Don't worry.. I'll warm you..," he pulled her close to him. And he was right. Though surrounded by the cold water, she felt so warm. "Care to dance, my lady?," he asked as he held his hand out. Aoi laughed and took his hand. They spent the night danced in the water, close to each other.

"Hacho…..," Aoi sneezed as she entered Tsunade's office. Today, she had some training with her teacher. "Did you catch a cold? What did you do last night?," she asked in concern. Aoi just grinned back to her teacher. There was a knock at the door. He entered. Aoi smiled sweetly at him and he smiled back. It makes Aoi felt very happy just to see him.

"Jiraiya-sensei told me to send you this..," he told Tsunade as he placed a scroll on her table. Tsunade nodded as she took the scroll and opened to read it. He turned around to leave when he suddenly sneezed. He looked at Aoi with a grin. Tsunde looked up from behind the scroll and noticed the way they looked at each other. "What did you two do last night until you catch a cold???." Both Aoi and him shrugged and smiled.

(end of flashback)

Aoi was so engrossed in her memories she had forgotten that Shinya was taking her to the dance floor. She was still stunned so she just let him pulled her. They reached the center pf the tent and they were standing underneath the moonlight. "Just follow my lead ok?," he told her before the music started.

When the music started, Aoi was still dazed but she managed to follow his steps. "See? It's easy??," he laughed as they danced. Not long after, others started to join them. And slowly, Aoi managed to come out of her shock and started to enjoy the dance. After s while, she was laughing while dancing happily with Shinya.

The search team had reached the river. "No track. Considering it was 3 weeks ago…," Yamato muttered. Naruto sighed. "Let's stay here for the night. We'll start tracking again tomorrow….," Kakashi commanded. Yamato and Naruto nodded and Yamaot started to set up a small hut, their shelter for the night.


	28. Chapter 28

BLOND HAIR 

CHAPTER 28: HIM AND THE TRUTH.

Aoi fell on the chair. She was exhilarated from the dance but she was smiling widely. Shinya was next sitting next to her, talking with his mother. Natsumi didn't danced she too like the others were smiling widely. Aoi smiled to herself as she calmed down and watched the villagers who were still dancing at the center of the stage. She took a sip of the drink in front of her. She didn't recognize the taste of the drink, a new taste but it was god, so she took a few sips. She was placing her glass down when a man stood by her. She turned to look. He was about Shinya's age, tall and had long straight hair. His hand was tied into a ponytail at the back of his neck. Aoi smiled at him. "May you dance with me?," he asked as she held out his hand.

Both Aoi and Shinya were surprised to hear what the man said. Aoi recovered from the shock and nodded and she placed her hand on his. He smiled even widely and pulled her towards the dance floor. Shiya eyed them suspiciously. Natsumi noticed that Shinya was watching Aoi and the man danced happily with a sour face. "You're jealous. You didn't expect Takuya would do that….," she murmured to her son. Shinya just glanced at his mother and continued watching Aoi and the man. "I'm not jealous…," he objected slowly, his eyes never left Aoi. Natsumi nodded. "Really? What if I told you that Takuya had been watching Aoi for while?," she tested her son.

"What??," Shinya shouted as he turned to his mother. Natsumi smiled and nodded. "That got your attention.. Well..you can blame him.. She's a beautiful woman. And I dare say that Takuya is not the only one…" Shinya had enough. He watched Takuya tugged a strand of Aoi's hair that was covering her face. Aoi smiled shyly. "She's mine!," he said through half-gritted teeth as he leaved the tent. "And I'll make sure she'll stay mine…"

Aoi bowed to Takuya when the music ended. She headed to where Natsumi was sitting and took a sip of her drink. Natsumi watched Aoi with a smile. "You're smiling..," she commented. "I always smile..," Aoi replied and took another sip of her drink. "Not like tonight…." Aoi shrugged. "I feel young tonight….," Aoi murmured with a smile. Natsumi was puzzled. "You are young," she corrected Aoi. Aoi smirked. "You have no idea…"

Shinya had finished the preparation of Part 3 of his plan. "I've worked hard for a long time. I'm not going to make anyone failed it now…." And now he only had to wait for the target to come to him. He was sure the target will come soon.

"Where's Shinya?," Aoi asked Natsumi when she realized he wasn't at the table or in the tent. "He's letting go of his fume. Outside…," Natsumi replied, her eyes didn't move from the dancers. "Fume?," Aoi asked the older woman. Natsumi just nodded with a smile. Aoi shrugged and stood up. She walked outside and looked around for Shinya. "Excuse me. Did you happened to see Shinya?," she asked one of the woman standing outside. "Shinya? Oh, he went that way," she pointed to her left. Aoi thanked the woman and started to walk to the left. She didn't know why but she just felt like she had to find him.

Aoi kept on walking until she reached a field. The field was surrounded by trees. "Just like the field in Konoha," she commented as she walked across the field. Aoi came to a halt when she saw what was in front of her. What she saw in front her took the wind out of her. "I have seen these before.. this place.. that smile…."

(flashback)

She was running through the forest. Her heart was panting fast. He had left a note telling her to go to the field inside the forest. The simple note had worried her. She was afraid that something might had happened to him. She slowed down when she reached the field. She walked slowly across the field. When she almost reached the center of the field, she saw him.

He was standing in the middle of the field. He was closing his eyes while his face was facing the sky. The moonlight was showering him, making him glowed. He noticed her presence. He opened his eyes and turned to look at her. He held out his hand as he smiled gently to her. The smile that he only show to her. His smile.. For her..

(end of flashback)

Shinya smirked when he saw Aoi looked at him liked she had seen a ghost. That was what she expected. Aoi's eyes were wide. She stared at Shinya who was standing in front of her. Reality and memory were swirling in her head. One moment it was the reality. Another moment, cane the images from her past. The changes between reality and memories were too much for Aoi. The reality of Shinya standing in front of her. The images of him, the sweet times they spent together.

A tear fell from Aoi's eye. Shinya was shocked. He didn't expected that. He thought Aoi would be happy when she saw him like that. He thought it would move her heart. He thought she would smile widely. Not..

Aoi fell to the ground, kneeling. She shook her head slowly, her gaze were on the ground. "No..no…," she whispered to herself. Her tears were falling and thrown into the air when she shook her head. Shinya approached Aoi. " Aoi…," he called as he walked towards her. Before he could reach her, Aoi put her hands to her ears and she screamed her heart out. She was screaming as if she was in pain. "Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!."

Aoi's scream was loud enough to be heard by Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato who was sleeping. "That was…," Yamato blurted. "It's her!," Kakashi shouted. They quickly got up and dashed towards where the scream was.

Shinya panicked. He didn't expect her to cry or scream. He ran towards her. He held his hand to touch her but she flinched and shouted. "Don't come near me!!!!!." Shinya pulled his hand back. "Who are you? Why are you doing this to me????," Aoi yelled as she stood up slowly, tears were still running down her cheek. Shinya sighed. "Don't you remember me?…." Aoi said nothing, she just stared at the man in front of him. "You're Shinya..," she blurted. Shinya sighed. "No.. The truth is I'm your husband….." Aoi snorted. "Liar!," she said curtly. Shinya sighed again. "Don't you love me anymore?," he said, half pleading. "Shut up! I love my husband but not you. You're not him!!!! He's …….dead…..," Aoi trailed off.

"I'm not dead. I'm here, standing in front of you. How could you forget? This face…," he smiled sadly. Aoi said nothing, she kept staring at the man in front of her.

"You're not him! You have similar faces but not the smile. YOU DON'T HAVE HIS SMILE!!!!!," she screamed. Shinya's face changed. "You really think I'm not your husband?," he asked for the last time. Aoi smirked. "I know you're not. Who the hell are you?!!?."

Shinya laughed. "I thought I had fooled you but clearly I'm wrong." Aoi squinted her eyes. "Who are you?." Shinya took a step to the front. "I was one of the researchers at 'White'." Aoi know 'White'. That was where she had spent her years, being studied. "What do you want from me?." Shinya titled her head. "I want you…." Aoi was taken aback. "They stopped the research when you ran away. But I wasn't going to give up that easily. When you returned to Konoha, I knew I can't get you in there so I waited until you go out for a mission. That was when my plan started."

"So the little girl by the river, she was your man?." Shinya nodded. " But she's not exactly a little girl. She had endured the same experiment done to you but she failed. Everyone who was involved in the experiment failed, except for you. Because of that, I can't let you go just like that…."

"But how???." Shinya raised his brow. "How did you know? About him?," Aoi questioned. Shinya smirked. We managed to get a glimpse into your memory. You know something? When you were asleep, your head was full with his memories. I know the God was smiling at me when I saw his face. I look exactly like him right?. It had made things easier for me to make you stay.."

Aoi didn't reply. Shinya stared at Aoi. "I'm curious about something.. When we first brought you to 'White', your brain activity was very passive, as if waiting for something to happened. But after a while, your brain activity started to become active. And you know why, there was one period that you cried. You cried everyday during that period."

"After that, your brain activity got more active, as if trying to wake up. One unfortunate day, I was so engrossed in your reading that I overdosed the drug. Wasn't much. Just a little overdose… not enough to wake you up but you woke up, to everyone's surprise. Something had forced you to get up wasn't it?." Shinya inquired.

"I don't have to answer that..," she replied rudely. Shinya nodded and smiled. "No.. you don't have too. I'll have the answer when I study you again….." Shinya started to laugh like a mad man. Aoi took a step backward as she pulled out her katana. Shinya stopped laughing. He smiled evilly. "Do you plan to kill me, Aoi?."

Aoi shook her head. "I don't plan to kill you. But if you attack, I won't just watch you…" Shinya's smile grew wider. "The point is can you kill me? With this face?." Aoi gritted her teeth. "I will if you attack me…" Shinya nodded. "Let's see if you really have the heart ti kill your husband.." With that, he dashed towards her, yielding his katana.

Kakashi, Naruto and Yamato was running through the forest at very high speed. They had deterined the location of the scream and they were heading there. "Please… let her be alright!!!," was what they prayed as they approached the location.

It was a one-sided battle. Both Aoi and Shinya knew Aoi could win the battle if she fought but she didn't. Shinya knew she couldn't. Aoi didn't attack Shinya, instead she just blocked all of Shinya's attacks. "What's wrong? Come and attack me!!! What? You couldn't do it?." Shinya laughed hard. Seeing the opportunity, Shinya attacked harder.

Aoi wanted to attack Shinya. But every time she thought she was ready to attack him, images from the past stopped her. So, she drew back her attack. Aoi knew Shinya noticed her unwillingness. 'I can't attack him… I just can't…'

Shinya harden his attack. "Come on Aoi!!! Attack me!! Kill me!!!," he shouted as he struck her rapidly. Aoi grunted. She knew she had to attack. She looked for an opening, Since Shinya was attacking her recklessly, she found one in no time. " There!!!," she shouted as she swung her katana to his waist. Shinya was surprised, he didn't see the attack coming.

The katana was nearing Shinya's waist. That was when Aoi remembered.

(flashback)

"Aoi…," he whispered sweetly by her ear as she opened her eyes. He was the first thing she saw every morning and the last thing she saw every night. She smiled, thinking she was blissful and contented.

(end of flashback)

"No!," she shouted to herself. Seconds before Aoi's katana slashed Shinya's waist, Aoi withdrew. Shinya sneered. He took the chance and swung his katana left shoulder. Aoi didn't have the time to dodge. Her movement was focused to withdrew her attack, not dodging Shinya's. " Argh!!!," she screamed in pain as the katana slashed her shoulder.

She threw herself to the back, landing on the grass nicely. She was holding her wound with one hand but her other hand was still holding up her katana. She was panting hard. She knew she was loosing a lot of blood from the wound. Shinya stopped. "You can give up and I'll treat the wound…." Aoi spat. Shinya shrugged. "Guess I have to kill you. Your dead body is better than nothing…."


	29. Chapter 29

BLOND HAIR

CHAPETR 29: THE FALLEN ANGEL

(Flashback)

They were sitting by the river, sitting next to each other, holding hands. He took her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I would never hurt you. I couldn't do it…" He was referring to the incident where Tsunade had asked him to spar with Aoi. Aoi smiled. "I know. That's a good thing and I'm happy to hear that. But…." "But what….," he asked as he brought her hand to his face. "What if one day I went crazy and killed people or I lost my conscious and become a threat to everyone?," she asked seriously. He closed his eye, sighing. "Then, I rather be killed by you than hurting you….."

(end of flashback)

Another drop of tear dropped from her eyes. Aoi stood up. With both hand, she held her katana in front of her. Shinya was puzzled. He tried to see her face but it was hidden by her hair. Aoi slowly looked up. Shinya noticed that the look in her eyes had changed. Aoi's eyes were filled with determination. "You're not him. He promised that he would never hurt me. And he's a man of his promise!!!!!," she lurched forward towards Shinya.

Kakashi, Naruto and Yamato reached the field. The first thing they saw was Aoi. The next thing they saw was the man she was fighting. "Isn't that the Fourth??," Yamato blurted, puzzled with what he saw. "The Fourth? He's dead right?," Naruto corrected Yamato. Kakashi said nothing. From their point of view, Aoi was fighting with the Fourth, her own husband.

Shinya was shocked to see Aoi's speed. Her speed had increased and he had hard time keeping up. Aoi was attacking Shinya continuously. She showed no sign of mercy nor indecisiveness.

"That's a new move….," Kakashi commented as he watched Aoi attacked the Fourth. "She's fast… and her blows are filled with chakura…," Yamato continued. Naruto nodded. He knew little about what they were saying but he can't tell that Aoi's move was powerful. "She's fighting but at the same time, she looked like she's dancing…."

Shinya started to grow tired. He had tried to stop Aoi;s attack with all his power but he had failed. Aoi saw an opening and she headed for the kill. Aoi's katana stabbed through Shinya's heart. Shinya's katana fell to the ground. Aoi pulled her katana and Shinya fell to the ground. He was gasping for air. "Ni..ce… move. The na..name????," he inquired as he tried hard to gasp or air. "Dance of the Fallen Angel..," Aoi blurted as she watched him dying; there was no sign of mercy in her eyes. Shinya smiled and took his last breathe. He closed his eyes and his face limped to the side.

Kakashi, Yamato, and Naruto ran towards Aoi whem they saw she had won the battle. "Aoi-sama!!!!," Naruto screamed as he ran towards her. Aoi turned her face slowly towards them. Abruptly, the three of them stopped. Aoi's face was expressionless and her eyes were blank. She looked at them with a blank stare. "Aoi…," Kakashi whispered as he walked slowly towards her. Aoi's head turned to look at Kakashi. But her eyes remain blank. No one moved. They realized Aoi was in a trance and they have to wait for her to snap out of the trance.

Aoi turned to look at Naruto. She stared at Naruto. " Face… the same…," she mumbled. Then, she turned to look at Shinya;s dead body. "Face.. the same… tried… to ..kill me..," she murmured as she stared at Shinya's dead body.

Aoi turned to look at Naruto again. Her face was confused. "You.. want to .. kill me ..too????," she asked Naruto with a confused face. Naruto shook his head. "No.. I come to save you.. and take you back home ….," Naruto replied, concern filled his voice. "Home??," Aoi mumbled as she looked up towards the sky. After a while she looked at Naruto again. "You.. won't… kill me?," she asked again.

Aoi was so confused to see the boy in front of her. ' He look like him.. But Shinya also look like him.. And Shinya tried to kill me.. Is this boy going to kill me too??? Who is this boy? Why does he look so worried… His worried face… Seen it before.. Just like him……

(flashback)

Aoi just came back from her mission. She already saw the gate. She walked slowly, she didn't have much chakura left after she fought the enemies. She was walking towards the gate when she saw him. He was pacing in front of the gate. He was worried. He looked up when he heard footsteps. He dashed towards her when he looked up and saw her.

Aoi smiled to him but she was too weak to stand up. She was falling to the ground when he swiftly appeared by her side and caught her in his arm. "Are you ok??," he asked her. He was worried, she noticed. His face and voice were filled with concern. Aoi smiled gently. "I'm fine. Just tired…." He nodded and carried her back. "I was worried…" Aoi nodded as she fell asleep on his chest. "I know…."

(end of flashback)

"Just like him….," Aoi whispered as she opened her eyes and saw Naruto. 'Naruto look just like him….. Of course.. He's Naruto father. And Naruto's my son... That's why…'

Aoi started to come back to reality. Slowly, the light returned to her eyes. " Naruto…," she whispered. Naruto nodded. Aoi smiled weakly to him. Naruto smiled back. He knew that smile. That was Aoi's smile. She wasn't in trance anymore..

Aoi felt powerless. She fell, kneeling to the ground. She heard foot steps. Then she saw Naruto was kneeling in front of her, looking at her with concern. Before she fell forward to the ground, she felt someone was hugging her. "Naruto….," she whispered as she curled her hands around him, hugging him tightly. 'I don't need the Council to tell me the truth.. I know Naruto is my son… I'm her mother.. That's why I can tell….' That was her last thought before she lost her conscious.

Naruto was surprised when Aoi hugged him. He was surprised because he felt very warm and safe. 'Maybe this is what they called mother's warmth.'

Kakashi just watched as Aoi hugged Naruto. He knew he couldn't stop her. No one in the world can. No force on Earth can tear a mother from her son apart. So, he sighed and smiled. Yamato was thinking the same. He looked at the mother and son with a smile.

When Aoi lost her conscious, Naruto panicked. Naruto laid her on the grass. "She lost conscious!!," he shouted at Kakashi and Yamato who dashed towards them. Yamato checked her vital sign. "She lost a lot of blood. I'll do emergency treatment but we must get her back, fast!," he told them. Kakashi nodded as they watched Yamato pumped his chakura on Aoi's wound.

"What are we going to do with the dead body?," Naruto asked Kakashi when Yamato had managed to stabilize Aoi. "We can't live him here. Let's bring him back…" Naruto nodded. "Naruto! You help Yamato with Aoi. I'll get the dead body. We must leave now. Aoi needs medical attention," Kakashi commanded as he headed towards the dead body. He studied the dead body.

"You look just like him. But I know you're not him. Aoi would never hurt him even if means she have to die…," he muttered to himself as he carried the body." Let's go!," he commanded when he saw Yamato was already carrying Aoi at his back.


	30. Chapter 30

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 30 : HOME SWEET HOME.

When they approached Konoha, Kakashi told Naruto to go ahead and informed Tsunade. He told him to wait for them at the hospital. Naruto nodded and dashed towards Konoha. Naruo was running at top speed. He knew Aoi was still in danger as long as she wasn't treated properly.

Tsunade jumped for her seat when Naruto burst into her office and told her Aoi was hurt. Both Shizune and Tsunade ran towards the hospital to make preparation to treat Aoi. Naruto followed them from behind and waited at the hospital lobby. After a few minute, Kakashi and Yamato arrived. Shizune gestured them to enter an emergency room. When they entered the room, Yamato placed Aoi on the bed while Kakashi placed Shinya on the bed next to Aoi.

"Is that??," Tsunade gasped when she saw the body. Kakashi shrugged. "Don't know. But he's dead…" Shizune went to the body and checked his vital sign. She nodded to Tsunade, confirming what Kakashi had told them. "Who killed him?," Tsunade asked as she took a look at Aoi's wound. "Aoi, believe it or not….," Yamato answered. Shizune gasped. "She did?? She could do it??." Yamato nodded.

" She fell into a trance after she killed him. Must be hard for her…," Kakashi mumbled. "But she managed to snap out of it. With Naruto's help…." Tsunade stared at Kakashi and Yamato. "You two go out first. I'll talk to the three of you after I treated her..," Tsunade commanded. Kakashi and Yamato exited the room. "Shizune, bring that body to the morgue. We'll need to confirm his identity afterwards." Shizune nodded and she pushed the body out, towards the morgue.

Tsunade stared at Aoi who had fallen into a deep sleep. She placed her hand on Aoi's temple and stroked her hair. "I don't know the details… but it seemed like you had gone through tough time…. Again…." Her eyes soften as she watched her ex-student. "Life had given you hard time right Aoi? I wonder how you managed to smile everyday… I really hope you'll find happiness. This time, for good…"

Tsunade closed the door behind her. She had called two ANBU to guard outside the door. Tsunade told her one of the ANBU to inform the Village Councilors that Aoi had returned safely. After the ANBU left, she headed towards her office where the search team was waiting for her. Tsunade wanted explanation, especially about the body in the morgue.

"So, you know nothing about the dead guy?," Tsunade concluded when Kakashi had finished with the mission report. The three of them nodded. Tsunade sighed. "He look just like him… Hell, from what had happened lately, he could be him…," Tsunade laughed nervously. "I'm quite sure that's not him," Kakashi told her his opinion. Tsunade raised her brow. "And why is that?." Kakashi shrugged. "Do you think Aoi would kill he man if the man was him?," he questioned Tsunade. Tsunade stared at Kakashi, no reply. "I think so too…," Kkashi concluded her stare. Tsunade sighed and nodded. "All of you are dismissed. Only Aoi have the answer. We'll just have to wait for her to wake up."

The three of them headed back. Naruto went back to his apartment and he headed straight into the shower. He was confused. He knew the dead man they brought back looked like the Fourth Hokage. "But what's the relationship between the Fourth and Aoi? From the way Kakashi and Tsunade-baachan talked, they sounded like they were closed."

Naruto decided to find answers to his question. So, after shower and fresh clothes, he headed towards the Ninja Academy. There was only one person he could ask. The one person that will answer him.

"Iruka-sensei!!!!," Naruto shouted and waved when he saw his Academy teacher. Iruka had just finished class and he was heading ti the teacher lounge. "Naruto?," he sounded surprised. "What brings you here?." Naruto grinned. "I have some questions…" Iruka nodded. "Let's go into the teacher lounge. We can talk there…"

"So, what's the question?," Iruka asked his former student as he placed a cup of tea in front of him. Naruto frowned. "I don't know where to start…" Iruke nodded patiently. "What is it about?." Naruo blurted. "Aoi-sama." Iruka wasn't surprised to hear what Naruto said. He knew it was just the matter of time when Naruto started to ask questions about her. "Anything specific?." Naruto thought for a while.

"What's her relationship with the Fourth Hokage?." Iruka laughed. "You should know that by now???." Naruto seemed annoyed but he shook his head. "I only know that they have this love relationship. Boyfriend and girlfriend?," he guessed. "Well, not quite right. I'll tell you. They're husband and wife." Naruto nodded. "But it doesn't make sense. They must be married before he died right? But that was 12 years ago. That would made her around 13 when she married him. Make no sense…." Iruko nodded. He understood that Naruto haven't heard about what had happened to Aoi.

"Naruto, Aoi-sama is not what she looks like..," Iruka started. "Aoi-sama was presumed dead around 12 years ago. Tsunade-sama concluded a drug had been used on her, causing her heart to stop and convinced people that she died. That was when her body was stolen from this village but she was revived and placed at some sort of research facilities. They ran tests and do experiments on her. But she managed to escape and she came back. That is why everyone was shocked to see her alive." Naruto nodded, understanding what Iruka had explained.

Iruka continued when he saw Naruto was nodding. "The experiment had affected her growth. That means, she stopped growing old. She returned to this village, they way she left. She's in her late 30's but she looks like what she was when she left this village, around her early 20's." Naruto nodded. "That means she stays young, as the effect of the experiments carried on her…" Iruka nodded. "Can you tell me more about her and The Fourth? I just have this curiosity…" Iruka nodded, smiling.

"From what I've heard, they met when they were still teenagers. Both of them are respected ninja. They were already jounins even before they reached their 20's. Well… what can I say? They meet, they fall in love, they got married. They were a happy couple and the hottest gossip in Konoha at that time. But their happiness were shattered. The Fourth died protecting the village and Aoi-sama presumed dead back then."

"Do they really love each other?," Naruto asked innocently. Iruka shook his head. "They're willing to die for each other. The Fourth died protecting the village, at the same time protecting her. She died trying to revive her. She used up all her chakura to revive the Fourth after the fight. But they both died. That was what everyone thought until she came back. Konoha's Romoe and Juliet. It was a tragic love story."

Naruto nodded. Iruka said nothing. He had told Naruto everything he knew. Naruto thanked him. " I hope what I told you helped in some way," Iruka told Naruto before he left. "You helped a lot. Thanks, Iruka-sensei!!!" Iruka nodded and smiled as he watched his former student left the Academy compound.


	31. Chapter 31

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 31: OUR PROMISES.

It had been two days since they brought Aoi back. Naruto had ben visiting her everyday. Like two days before, Naruto headed towards the hospital. Tsunade also told him that it would take some time before she would wake up. But Naruto had started to worry.

He opened the door and saw Kakashi was inside the room. He was standing by Aoi's bed, watching her as she slept. "Kakashi-sensei…," Naruto greeted and closed the door behind him. Kakashi nodded. "No changes?,"Naruto asked as he walked and sat on the chair next to Aoi's bed. Kakashi shook his head. They said nothing, sitting in silence, both watching Aoi as she breathed in and out..

Tsunade came into the room with Shizune. She sighed when she saw Kakashi and Naruto's crestfallen faces. "No changes huh?," she muttered. Naruto and Kakashi nodded. "Will she stay like that? Like before? When they kidnapped her?," Naruto asked, his gaze was fixed on Aoi. "I don't know… But she's a strong girl... She'll make it, even if she has to endure it again."

A ninja entered the room. "I'm sorry for disturbing Tsunade-sama. We have visitors and they're asking for Aoi-sama..," he announced. Tsunade nodded. Kakashi looked at Tsunde. The three of them went out. "Stay with her, ok Naruto? She needs you…," Shizune whispered as she closed the door. After closing the door, the three of them headed quickly towards the meeting room. "They may have the answer about the dead body..," Kakashi told Tsunade on their way to the meeting room. "Let's find out!," she shouted as they quicken their pace.

Naruto sighed. "I don't know why but I feel very close to you… I felt very warm when you hugged me that night.. I need you to get up… I want that feeling again… Please wake up…," he whispered as he held her hand and squeezed it. "Please wake up…. I need you to smile to me, again," he brought her hand to his cheek. Naruto cried, squeezing Aoi's hand. "Okaa-chan…."

Aoi was standing in by the waterfall. She looked around, looking for someone. She shouted his name but no sound came out from her throat. She held her throat, horrified but shouted again. She needed him. She shouted and shouted but no sound came out from her throat. And he never showed up. She knelt to the ground, exhausted. Her body shivered with fear and pain. She hugged herself. 'I need you now.. more than ever.. Please.. I need to see.. Just once.. For the last time…..' Aoi started to sob. Her Prince won't come to her. He had gone to a faraway place and he had forgotten about her.

Suddenly, she felt warm arms circled around her. The warmth had stopped her from shivering. She stopped crying and looked up. And she saw him. He looked exactly the way he looked when they first met. He had a gentle smile on his face. His smile.. For her.. Aoi face lighten up when she saw his face. She threw her hands around him, hugging him causing both of them to fall to the ground. She laughed.

Her prince haven't left her. Her Prince had come for her.

They sat by the river, looking at the waterfall. Aoi sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She was closing her eyes, smiling with bliss. "I want us to stay like this forever….," she whispered. He said nothing but smiled to her. Slowly, he turned her, facing him. He hold her hands. "You know we can't do that. You don't belong here. This is my place, not yours…." Aoi shook her head, holding his hand tightly. She started to cry. Tears were streaming down her cheek.

"I don't want to go… I want to stay.. This is my place, next to you.. I want to be with you.. Please let me stay…," she begged to him. He pulled her towards him, curling his hand around her sobbing body. Aoi bawled. She cried her heart out. She knew she could only do that in front of him. He sighed and held her tightly. "I too want you to stay… I craved for you by my side. But we can't….." Aoi didn't replied. Her crying got worst. She was sobbing, crying on his chest. He let her cry as he stroke her hair gently, whispering comforting words. Aoi calmed down. She pulled herself from him and stood in front of him, gazing into his eyes.

"Do I really have to go?," she asked again, tears still brimming in her eyes. He nodded gently. "Who will look after our son if you stay here?," he asked as he wiped her tear stricken face. "Our son…. You mean… him??," Aoi murmured. Again he nodded, but this time with a smile. "Will you be fine here? By yourself? Alone...," she started to worry. He laughed. "You don't have to worry about me… I'm not alone. I have you and our son to watch. That would be enough for me…." Aoi looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure???." He grinned and nodded. "Plus, you don't have to worry about me flirting with another woman. I'm here by myself," he laughed at his joke. Aoi was annoyed and smacked him on the shoulder. He stopped laughing and watched here.

"You know I won't look for another. You're the only one in my heart. I'm chained to you….," he whispered as he cupped her face with his hand. Aoi closed her eyes and nodded. "I know…." He pinched both of her cheek. "I'm just worried you'll forget about me and find another guy." Aoi rubbed her cheek, fuming. "You know I won't. I'm already blessed with a husband whose I'm very much in love with and a son who always cheer me up…. What else could I ask for???," she caressed his hand.

"But I won't be there for you…," he murmured sadly. Aoi hugged him tightly. It broke her heart every time she remembered the cruel reality. "But we still have our son…." He smiled sadly as he let her go. Suddenly, they heard a voice from the sky. They looked up. "Please wake up…. I need you to smile to me, again," the voice begged. "That's our son…," he told her. Aoi nodded sadly. "Okaa-chan….", came the voice. "He's calling you…," he continued. She knew what he was about to say. "You must go now…." She hugged him, not wanting to let go. He hugged her back.

They stayed like that for a few seconds. Aoi looked into his eyes, for the last time. He bent forward and kissed her on the lips. Aoi closed her eyes and a single tear dropped from her eye. She knew the kiss. The soft kiss, the one he gave her the day he left her. Which means, he was going to leave her again. Aoi opened her eyes when he broke the kiss. He was smiling at her. Aoi realized she was vaporizing into the air. "Promise you'll wait for me here?," she shouted as he started to fade. He nodded. "Right here waiting….. Promise me you'll take good care of yourself and our son …" Aoi nodded. The last thing she saw was his face, smiling at her. His smile, for her.

Naruto opened his eyes when he realized Aoi was squeezing his hand. He stood up and bent forward. Then he saw her eyes fluttered. Naruto's face lighten up. Aoi slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the boy. He was smiling though there were tears in his eye. "Naruto…," she called him. Naruto nodded and wiped his eyes carelessly with his sleeve. Aoi sat up slowly. Naruto watched her with concern. When she had sit properly, she looked at Naruto. Naruto looked at her back. Aoi smiled to him and lurched forward.

Naruto was stunned. When he realized it, Aoi was hugging him. Naruto was too stunned to say anything. But he can feel it. The warmth as she hugged him. And he liked it. Naruto decided to do nothing, just let himself hugged by Aoi. Aoi closed her eyes when she hugged him. 'I'll keep my promise. I'll keep our son safe as long as I'm here….'


	32. Chapter 32

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 32: IDENTIFYING THE UNIDENTIFIED. 

Tsunade, Shizune and Kakashi entered the meeting room. Upon entering, they saw two man were waiting for them. One man was an old man while the other was a young man. The old man had long white beard while the young man was tall and had long straight hair. His hand was tied into a ponytail at the back of his neck. They stood up and bowed when they realized their entrance. Tsunade took a seat while Shizune and Kakashi stood behind her. "I'm Tsunade, the Hokage of Konoha," Tsunade started by introducing herself. The old man nodded. "I'm the Chief of Tsukiya Village," he introduced himself politely. "And this is my son, Takuya," he pointed to the young man next to him. Takuya nodded curtly. "I was told you are asking for Aoi?," Tsunade inquired, straight to the business. The Chief nodded. "Aoi stayed in our village while recuperating from her injury. A few days ago, it seemed like she had left our village. Along with the disappearance with one of the villager, Shinya. We suspected that Aoi had something to do with the Shinya's disappearance…." Tsunade gritted her teeth. 'Things could turn bad….'

Aoi let go of Naruto. She smiled at him. "Sorry.. I must you too much!," she grinned. Naruto smiled back. "Me too. You had us scared back then….." Aoi nodded. "Yeah.. I had myself scared back then too….," she mumbled. "Tsunade-baachan said she wanted to meet you as soon as you wakes up….," Naruto informed her. Aoi nodded, she knew what Tsunade wanted from her. She expected that Kakashi had brought back Shinya with them. "But, it seemed like someone came looking for you, so she left..," he continued. Aoi nodded. She had expected the villagers would come, looking for Shinya.

Slowly, she tried to stand up. "You can't move. You're still weak..," Naruto tried to stop her. "I must go to Tsunade..," she told him, ignoring him as she stood up. She wavered but Naruto had grabbed her by the waist and helped her to steady herself. After a while, she managed to walk on her own. "Let's go to Tsunade," Aoi called Naruto and headed towards the meeting room.

" I'm assuming that you have Shinya with you," the Chief continued. Tsunade nodded. "Yes, we do. But….," she stopped. "But what?," Takuya insisted. Tsunade sighed. "He had passed away. We only brought his body back." The Chief and Takuya was surprised but they quickly recovered. "How did he died?," he stressed out. Tsunade opened his mouth answer but stopped when the door burst opened. "I killed him!," Aoi announced as she and Naruto entered the room.

All of their attention was diverted towards Aoi. Takuya jerked up and ran towards Aoi. "Aoi!," he exclaimed as he embraced her. Kakashi and Naruto shot a dagger look at Takuya. The Chief just sighed, seeing how his son acted. Tsunade and Shizune looked at each other and shrugged. "Ark..," Aoi yelped. He let her go. "Oh, sorry… You're injured?," he asked in concern. Aoi nodded and gave him a small smiled. "Nothing serious…," she told him. He sighed relieved. "I'm so relieved to see you're all right. When you disappeared, we thought something bad might had happened to you…"

Aoi nodded as she entered the room and faced the Chief, Takuya stood beside her. "I'm sorry, Chief. Shinya is dead. I killed him," she confessed. The Chief sighed and waved his hand. "It's ok. I know it wasn't your fault. He attacked you first, didn't he?..," he inquired. Aoi nodded sadly. Tsunade was shocked. "How did you know he had attacked her?," she asked. The Chief looked at Aoi. "He probably had told you. The fact that he was one of the researchers? At the place they called 'White'?." Aoi nodded. "How did you know?," she asked back. "He thought we didn't know. About his involvement with 'White'. But we know everything…..," Takuya explained.

The Chief shook his head. "That boy thought he could fool us… Not to much avail. When Takuya noticed how possessive of him towards you, he told me. I confirmed that he was aftering you, probably intended to continue his experiment…." No one said anything. Aoi lowered her head. "That was what he told me. He said he wanted to study me again….. … I'm sorry I killed him.. I should've stop him instead of killing him…" "Aoi….," Takuya whispered as he placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "It wasn't your fault. We know you did it to defend yourself…."

Tsunade was relieved. She thought the situation might got worst but Aoi saved the day, again. The Chief stood up. "It wasn't your fault. We understand. We're here to collect his body. His mother is waiting back at the village." Aoi looked up. "Natsumi-basan.. How's she?," Aoi stepped forward. "She's holding on. She's sad but I'm sure she'll understand…..," The Chief comforted Aoi. Aoi nodded. "Tell her that I'm sorry. For what had happened…."

The Chief nodded and turned to Tsunade. "I'm assuming we can go and collect Shinya's body now?." Tsunade nodded. "Of course. Shizune will show you the place," she said pointing to Shizune. Shizune nodded and guided the Chief and Takuya. Takuya looked at Aoi. "You know.. You can always visit us again. The village people loves you…," he told as he stood at the door. Aoi smiled sadly. "Thank you. I will someday…" Takuya closed the door behind him.

Kakashi, Naruto and Tsunade sighed. "Aoi, sit here," Tsunade pat the place next to her. Aoi sat down, eyes still on the floor. "So, Shinya… Is he the one who…" Aoi nodded. "He looks just like him… I thought I saw a ghost when I first saw Shinya… Very alike… But Shinya's not him.. He was a nice guy though….," Aoi mumbled to herself. Kakashi snorted. "Until he tried to kill you…" Aoi looked at him and said nothing.

Aoi turned to look at Tsunade. "I want to send them off. See Shinya for the last time..," Aoi told Tsunade as she stood up and walked to the door. "Ok.. Naruto and Kakashi will escort you…," Tsunade commanded as she stood up. Aoi stared at her. "I don't need…," she tried to object. Tsunade shook her head. "You're still weak. Either they escort you to go or you don't go at all," she said strictly. Aoi said nothing as she walked out from the room. Naruto closed the door.

Tsunade collapse on the sofa. She sighed as she rested her head. She massaged her head. "I worried too much about her…. Stop bossing her around!! Since when you became her mother?" she scolded herself. Then she smiled to herself. "I guess I had become her mother since forever. And as such, I don't want her to be hurt again. She had enough. She was a blissful girl when fate robbed all of her happiness. I just hope she could be happy again….."

Aoi arrived at the big gate a few minutes later. When she arrived, she saw the Chief and Takuya was talking with Shizune. They were standing beside a caravan with 2 horses pulling it. Aoi looked at the caravan sadly. She knew what was inside. Aoi approached them. Naruto and Kakashi followed her. Takuya noticed her and waved. Aoi smiled back. "I come to see him. For the last time…," Aoi told the Chief, her eyes were directed to the caravan.

The Chief nodded. Aoi entered the caravan. She walked and stood by the bed. Slowly, she pulled down the white cloth that was covering his face. She felt a lump in her throat when she saw him. He looked the way he had looked when she last saw him. Lifeless. " I'm sorry. I really wish I didn't kill you. Strangely, after what you have done to me, I'm not mad at you at all. I'm just sad that things had to ended the way it did. But maybe it's for the best…," she sighed as she knelt beside the body.

"You know something? When I lost him, my husband, I silently prayed that I'll get the chance to see him again. Just once.. And my prayers were answered, more than I asked for when I met you. Meeting you and spending time with you made me realized how much I love him and how much I …miss him."

Aoi took a deep breath. "But I soon come to realize that you're not him, though I hope will all my heart that you are. But you're different from him. No one can be him. No one can replaced him in my heart." Aoi slowly stood up. "Thank you. I'll always appreciate the time we spent together. You made me realized a lot of things. Farewell, dear friend." Aoi bend down and kissed Shinya on the temple.

Naruto and Kakashi was agitated as they waited for Aoi. After a few minutes, Aoi came out. She went to the Chief and thanked him. The Chief climbed on the caravan where Takuya was already meeting. Takuya stared at Aoi. "We will meet again…," he told her. Aoi smiled and nodded. The caravan started to move, leaving Konoha. Aoi watched the caravan with a smile until it faded from her view.

"Let's go back. I still have to report the mission to Tsunade," she told Naruto and Kakashi. Shizune nodded and walked by her side. "Say.. Aoi-sama.. You noticed something about Takuya?," she asked mischievously. Aoi looked at Shizune with a puzzled expression. Naruto and Kakashi glared at Shizune. "Shizune!!!!."


	33. Chapter 33

BLOND HAIR

CHPATER 33 : THE PROPOSAL…

A week had past since Aoi had returned to Konoha. She was supposed to stay at the hospital for the whole week but she always ran away from the hospital. Tsunade would tell Naruto to look after her every time she went missing. And Naruto would headed to one place. He knew he'll find her there everytime.

"Guessed you'd better here," Naruto greeted when he saw Aoi was sitting on a rock by the river. Aoi turned around and smiled. Naruto stood by her side. "Why do you come here everyday?," he asked as he looked at the waterfall. Aoi smiled. "This is my favorite place in Konoha." Naruto nodded. "But why? I know it's beautiful and calm ans all but there must be a reason why you like this place," he questioned. Aoi nodded. "This is where I first met husband. This is where we always meet. This is the place he purposed me. There are many memories here….". "When you said your husband, you mean the Fourth?." Aoi nodded. "Yes… that's him…" Naruto squatted down. "I heard about happened the day he died. Why did you do that? Give him all your chakura though you know you can't revive him. You almost died… Correction, you died!," he asked with interest.

Aoi laughed. "Stupid thing to do, right? But if I were in the same situation again, I'd do the same." Naruto looked at Aoi. "Why?." Aoi smiled and put her hand on Naruto's head. "Naruto, when you really love somenone, you think of them first. You would throw everything for them, including your life. I found that someone. You'll find it too. And when you do, treasure them and protect them with all your heart. If not, you will regret it when they've gone." Naruto didn't blinked. "Do you have any? About your husband?," he asked innocently. Aoi smiled sadly. "I wish we can live together a little bit longer… but.. I have no regret. I love him with all my heart and he love me back just as much. I'm contented with that."

"That's why they called you two Romeo and Juliet….," Naruto commented. Aoi laughed. "But this Juliet is still alive. I won't commit suicide just because he had gone. I still have a few hings to live for…." Naruto nodded. "Can I know what that is? The things you're living for?." Aoi said nothing, she stared at the waterfall. "This village which he died protecting and most importantly, you…," she whispered. Naruto heard the last part of the sentence. He was about to say something when Aoi suddenly shouted.

"You don't have to be so secretive. You know I can sense you …." Naruto looked around. After a few minutes, he sensed someone was coming towards them. And when he emerged from the bushes, Naruto realized it was Kakashi. "Still as sharp as ever…," he commented as he stood in front of them. Aoi shrugged. "What's up?," she asked as she stood up. "Tsunade wants you in her office. Something about the Tsukiya Village."

As Aoi, Naruto and Kakashi entered Tsunade's office, they saw her relaxing on her chair. "You called me? About the Tsukiya Village?," Aoi asked puzzled to see Tsunade's smiling at her as she entered. She had expected problems with the Tsukiya and Tsunade was calling her to help her out. "Yes, I did. But worry not! It's nothing serious.. oh, it's serious matter but not in the danger kinda way…" Aoi, Kakashi and Naruto looked at each other. "Sit down…," Tsunade invited them with a sweet smile. They slowly sat down, still puzzled.

Tsunade started with the smile still plastered on her face. "The Tsukiya send a letter today.," she started. Aoi nodded. "Still remember Takuya, the Chief's son?." The three of them nodded. "He had send a proposal….," Tsunade squealed. Aoi raised her brow. "What proposal?," she asked stupidly. Tsunade sighed. "A marriage proposal!!!," she shouted, losing her temper. "Oooooo," Aoi understood. "He said Konoha's kunoichi is the best choice as a future wife….," Tsunade walked around the office. The three of them nodded.

"So… what do you think, Aoi?," Tsunade stopped in front of her former student. "He's handsome and nice. He's going to be the Village Chief one day….." Tsunade nodded excitedly, asking Aoi to continue. "I'll say yes!," Aoi blurted.


	34. Chapter 34

Thanks for all the review. I'm really thankful.. Your reviews made me want to write more and more… Thank you VERY much! Please keep r&r….

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 34: MARRIAGE??? THE TRUTH IS FINALLY OUT! 

Tsunade, Kakashi and Naruto looked at Aoi in disbelief. "That means.. you agree…," Kakashi tried to confirm what he heard. Aoi nodded. "Yes, I agree. 100!." Tsunade looked at Kakashi and Naruto. "Are you saying you agree to this marriage?," Naruto asked Aoi again. Aoi nodded and made a puzzled face. "Why do you guys look so surprise? He's handsome and he's nice. I met him only a few times, but I know he's a nice guy……," she defended Takuya. Tsunade nodded. "I didn't expect this….," she mumbled.

Aoi stood up, grinning. "We have to work fast! There's a lot of things to prepare," Aoi smiled excitedly. "Let's make a list of things to do….," she looked around for paper. When she got one, she started to write. "First thing first, we'll him a suitable kunoichi… Then we need to ask his opinion about her…" Kakashi, Naruto and Tsunade fell to the ground. "Aoi, I think there's a misunderstandind here….," Kakashi interrupted. Aoi looked up from where she was writing. "What?," she was confused. "Tsunade starched her head. "He had asked for a specific kunoichi…," she explained. Aoi grinned. "Looks like he had done his homework. Who is it? Is Anko? Or Shizune?," Aoi was eager to know. Naruto sighed.

"He's proposing YOU, Aoi…," Naruto told her. Aoi froze at her seat. She looked at Tsunade for confirmation. Tsunade nodded. "I can't do that! No, I'm married!," she yelled as she pointed the ring on her finger. "Well… not exactly…," Kakashi mumbled. Aoi opened her mouth, but closed it when she realized she can't argue with that. Tsunade walked towards Aoi and placed her hand on Aoi's shoulder.

"Now, what say you?," she asked gently. Aoi looked at her in horror. "Of course no! I can even imagine about it!!," she half-screamed. Tsunade nodded. Aoi eyed her suspiciously. "You won't force me to get marry right? All the diplomatic relationship stuff???," she asked her former teacher seriously.

"What if I do?," Tsunade tested Aoi. "If that's the case, I can promise you one thing. You won't have your bride during the wedding and you won't found her anywhere near Konoha…," she answered confidently, threatening. Tsunade nodded. "It's up to you to accept or reject. I have no right to decide about your life…" Aoi let out a sigh of relief. "The Councilors have the same opinion with you?," she remembered. "They say it's your free will. But I think they knew you won't accept it. You're to 'attached' to this village was what they said…"

Aoi nodded, relieved. "Wait! It's not over yet. You turn the gentleman down, you have to tell him…," Tsunade ordered as she sat on her chair. "Tell him? Why can you do it for me?," Aoi whined. Tsunade shook her head. "I can't. He's already in Konoha. He wanted the answer from you. Now…."

"What? Don't tell me he's outside," Aoi shouted. Tsunade nodded. " Yep, he is. And he's waiting…," she replied as she pointed at the door. Aoi sighed. She headed towards the door. "I'll be in the meeting room if anyone needs anything," Aoi announced as she announced. "Hi! Didn't expect to see you so soon….," Aoi chirped as she closed the door.

Tsunade looked at Kakashi and Naruto. "What? You know she would never say yes…," Kakashi muttered. Tsunade sighed. "I just thought it would be good for her to move on with her life. That's why I even considered the proposal." Kakashi shrugged. "Moving on doesn't mean she have to get marry again. She is moving on..," he told her as he walked out form the office. Naruto shrugged and followed him.

"So, that's your decision?," Takuya asked Aoi as he lowered his head. Aoi took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm sorry…" Takuya shook his head as he looked up. "May I know why?," he asked, smiling. "I used to love a guy. I still does. And I'll love him till the day I die," she replied as she gazed out of the window. Takuya nodded and stood up. "He must be an awesome guy…," he held his hand out for a shake. Aoi nodded and smile. She took his hand. "Till we meet again…," he ended the conversation and walked out. "He is an awesome guy. He was so nice and gentle….," Aoi told the wind as she walked to the window and watched the sky.

(flash back)

They were having dinner. He just came back from a mission and he seemed tired but he always smile. Aoi can tell that he was tired by the tone of his voice. She said nothing; not wanting to bother him. He will tell her when he was ready. After dinner, he went straight to bed while Aoi finished some paperwork. She went to bed when she had finished. As she climbed on the bed, she noticed that he still wasn't asleep. He had his back towards her but she can tell by his breathing. She waited.

"Aoi," he suddenly called her. "Hmm???." Without turning, he whispered. "You're asleep?." Aoi turned to face his back. "No, I'm here…," she replied softly. Slowly, he turned towards her, facing her. He was troubled. Aoi knew cause he had a slight frown at his forehead. "What's wrong honey?," she started as she cupped his face with his hand. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I killed two kids today…," he told her, his voice started to waver. Aoi listened carefully, that was the least she could do. "The pursue of the criminal lead into a house. He took the kids as hostages. I tried to safe them but he was too fast. When I gave him the final blow, he managed to kill those kids. I can only watch them died….," he let out. Aoi leaned forward and pull him into her arm. She stroke his hair evey so gently. "It wasn't your fault…," she whispered close to his ear. He nodded. "I know but I can't help thinking I could've done something to save them…"

"Is there?," she asked gently. He slowly shook his head. "I did what I thought was the best….." Aoi nodded. Suddenly, he laughed. "I'm already a jounin, a ninja. People would laugh at me if they know I sweat about things like this…." Aoi pushed him slowly and faced him. "Being a ninja doesn't mean we should lose our feelings as a human.. we are after all, human….," she gazed gently into his eyes. He nodded with a smile, a small smile. "I'm the luckiest guy alive…, You're the best thing that ever happened to me..…." he announced as he pulled her forward and kissed her on the forehead. He smiled and hugged her tight.

"Promise me you won't leave me. Never….," he whispered as they were drifting to sleep. "I promise….," she replied as her eyelid started to feel heavy and closed slowly.

(end of flashback)

Aoi opened her eyes. She saw the blue sky in front of her. She smiled. "As blue as his eyes….". When she looked down a little, she saw Naruto was walking out from the administration building. He looked up and noticed Aoi was watching. He waved. Aoi waved back, smiling widely. Then, he left. "It's time. I should be telling him soon…."

"Yes, you should. But before that, I need to talk to you about something..," a voice interrupted from behind. Aoi turned around sharply and saw the voice's owner. It was Jiraiya. He was leaning at the door and winked at her. "Jiraiya-sensei!," she was surprised. "Let's go for a walk..," he said and lurched forward. Before she know it, he was carrying her and they were flying out from the window. "Where are you taking me?," she asked calmly. "Somewhere we can talk in private. Tsunade is also on her way there…."

After a while, Aoi grew uncomfortable. "You can put me down sensei.. I can walk on my own..," she told him. Jiraiya looked at her like she just said the most stupid thing in the world. "Tsunade told me you're still weak. Besides, you don't know the place…..," he objected. Aoi sighed. "I rather walk on my own though…." Jiraiya grinned. "That old lady would kill me if she saw I let you walk there…," Jiraiya made an annoyed face. Aoi smiled.

"Yeah.. Lately, Tsunade-sensei worries about me to much..," she murmured. "Lately? She had been worrying about you since you become her student…," he corrected her. Aoi was stunned but she recovered. "Yeah.. she does didn't she?," she giggled. "Kinda like a mother who worries about her child….," Jiraiya added and watched Aoi. Aoi nodded slowly and smile a tender smile. "I think so too…"

Jiraiya smiled. "You must miss him too right, Jiraiya-sensei?," Aoi asked. Jiraiya didn't replied, his eyes were fixed on the course. "Yeah.. He's a hell of a student. Very stubborn and determine. I sometimes hate him because of that…," he ended it with a laugh. Aoi fell in silence. Jiraiya knew she must be thinking about him. "He was one damn lucky guy to have you…," he blurted. Aoi just smiled. "I'm the lucky one to have him…." Jiraiya shook his head. "Out of all the guy in Konoha, you've chosen him… Other guys were.. are head over heels over you. You can have any of them…," he explained. Aou kaughed. "That's the problem; I only want him…"

Jiraiya sighed. He knew his student and Aoi shared something very special. He had seen no other couple like them. He himself was skeptical about love until he met them. Their bond was so strong, nothing seemed come between them. He respected them and he believed what they had shared. "He told me before that you're the best thing that ever happened to him….," he tried to cheer her up.

Aoi looked up. "He did? He told me once…." Jiraiya nodded. "Jiraiya-sensei.. I have a request.." Jiraiya looked at Aoi who was looking down. "I… never mind.. it's nothing…," she waved her hand. Jiraiya nodded but he knew she was hiding something.

When they reached the place, Tsunade was already waiting. "You're late, old man! What happened? Your age slowed you down??," she laughed to her own joke. Jiraiya carefully placed Aoi down. He was pissed but he didn't replied. Aoi walked towards Tsunade. "So, about this talk…," she started. Tsunade looked at Jiraiya and he nodded. Tsunade told Aoi to sit on a rock nearby while he and Jiraiya stood in front of her.

"We're here to tell the truth to you…," Tsunade started. "Though it means we have to break our promise to certain people….," Jiraiya continued. Both of them looked at Aoi seriously. Aoi felt a lump in her throat. She knew it was about her, him and Naruto. Tsunade took a deep breath. "Naruto is NOT your son…..," she blurted it out in one breath.


	35. Chapter 35

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 35: THE GENUINE TRUTH..

Aoi's eyes were wide for a while. She looked at Jiraiya for confirmation. JIraiya nodded. But after that, she shook her head slowly and smiled. "No… he's my son," she replied calmly. Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at each other. "You're doubting us?," Jiraiya questioned her. "No.. I trust my heart and my judgement…," she replied, watching both of them. Tsunade sighed. "You don't believe us…" Aoi felt guilty but her guilt vanished right away when she saw Jiraiya held out his hand towards Tsunade. "Told you she wouldn't buy it! Gimme my money!." Tsunade sighed and pull out the money form her pocket and put it on Jiraiya's palm. "You sucks at betting Tsunade," he teased as he counted the money.

"What's the meaning of this?," Aoi gritted her teeth as she asked. Jiraiya and Tsunade seemed like they had forgotten she was there. "Oh. We're just testing you..," Tsunade explained. "And turn it into a chance to gain money…," Jiraiya added as he put the money in his pocket. Aoi squinted at them. "You had a bet about my reaction?," she asked in disbelief. Tsunade smiled guiltily while Jiraiya just grinned.

Aoi was about to shout with anger when she realized something. "That means, Naruto is my son..," she mumbled, looking at Tsunade and Jiraiya. Smiling tenderly, they nodded. Aoi smiled. It was a genuinely happy smile, both Tsunade and Jiraiya noticed.

"So, what exactly happened that day?," her face changed to a very serious face.

"After you gave birth to Naruto, your husband took him. To seal the Kyuubi inside of him….," Tsunade started. Aoi nodded. "He made us promise not to tell you unless he still lives after that. The nurse told you that your son died. It was an order from him. That was when things go out of control. The nurse had given you a type of drug between your labor and your death. When you heard about him, you went to see him. Then, you died." Aoi nodded calmly though her head was filled with images from the night. She tried to shove away the images.

"You died that night, Aoi. Literally. Your heart stopped beating a few seconds after his heart did. Your body and his were sent to the morgue for the funeral. But it turned out your body had been kidnapped. No many knows about that incident. I guess that was when you were admitted into 'White'. We managed to trace the track of the nurse. She ran to Tsukiya Village after giving you the drug. We suspect that she was involved with Shinya." Aoi nodded. "It's all make sense now. The pieces of the puzzle had been completed… Puzzle of my life…," she whispered.

Aoi looked up, staring at Jiraiya and Tsunade with a pained expression. "Why did he do that? Giving the order to tell me that my son is dead?," she asked them. Begging for answer. Tsunade shook her head. Jiraiya sighed. "He didn't want you to worry. If everything ends well, he was planning to come clean to you….," he answered. Aoi snorted. "But things didn't end well. And it got messier after that…." Aoi shook her head and laughed. "Why did he do that? He didn't trust me? Why???," she shouted as she ran away from Tsunade and Jiraiya. Tsunade tried to chase her but Jiraiya stopped her. "She needs the time alone….," he told Tsunade who nodded slowly after hearing what he had said. "Plus, we know where she's going…..," Jiraiya added as they watched Aoi disappeared from their view.

Aoi ran towards the waterfall. She felt unspoken anger ranging inside her chest, fighting to get out. At the same time, she felt pain as if her heart was shredded to pieces. She increased her speed until she reached the waterfall. She didn't stop when she reached the river bank. She jumped into the river and went into the water.

She stopped moving, just floating in the water. She didn't try to go to the surface. She needed the water to calm her. She let the water flowed through her, hoping that it will take away the heart ache and anger along with it's flow. She felt calm and peaceful until she was out of air. Her brain told her to go to the surface but her heart stopped her from doing so. 'Maybe the pain will go away along with my breath….,' she thought to herself. So she stayed as her chest tighten and her vision was blurry.

Before she passed out, she saw an image. It was an image of a man, smiling at her. She smiled back. His smile.. For me…..

"Huargh!!!," Aoi gasped for air as she leaped out from the water. She coughed for a while as she adjusted herself to the oxygen that was rushing into her lung. "That was stupid ,Aoi…," she mumbled as she swan towards a more shallow place. She stopped when the water reached her waist and stood up, facing the waterfall. She watched the water flows majestically and the splashes of water from he fall had created a beautiful rainbow. She just stared at the waterfall, not moving even an inch.

Slowly, she headed towards the waterfall. "I understand why you had chosen our son. You wanted to save the village, I understand. But why didn't you tell me that? Why did you lie to me! And you left me not knowing the truth," she started to mumble. But her voice suddenly raised and she was shouting in front of the waterfall as she slapped the water in front of her with all her efforts. "Did you know I have to go through hell just to come back here and find about the truth. The truth that you hid from me. WHY!!!!!!!!!!." Her scream echoed through the forest, causing bird to fly away.

Not far from the waterfall, Tsunade and Jiraiya was sitting on a rock. They heard her scream. "Aoi..," Tsunade whispered worriedly. Jiraiya pat her on the shoulder, trying to comfort her. "She's in great pain… She's hurting, Jiraiya! We must do something!," Tsunade pleaded at her friend. Jiraiya shook his head gently. "We mustn't, Tsunade. This is something she had to endured herself. We just have to trust her. She's a very strong girl. She'll make it!."

Aoi was panting. She was still looking at the waterfall. But her angered face changed. Her face crumpled and she started to cry. "You lied to me. Then, you leave me. Now, I get to meet our son again. But you're not here…. You lied to me and you left me! How dare you! You promised! You promised and you broke it! You!!!!!!!," she shouted as she cried. Aoi's body was shaking as her tears flowed down her red cheek. She didn't say anything after that. She just cried alone in the water. Witnessed by the waterfall.


	36. Chapter 36

The chapters are bit sad and sappy lately. Give the girl a break ok? She's grieving. To all the people who are grieving out there, give your heart a break and grieve. There's nothing wrong with grieving. But after that, you've got to move on…

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 36: OH, LITTLE STARS. GIVE ME STRENGTH….

The sun had set hours ago and the stars had replaced the sun. There were thousands of stars, twinkling in the black sky. "The stars looked like small pieces of shattered glasses… like pieces of my shattered heart..," Aoi mumbled as she closed her eyes. She was lying at the river bed, looking at the stars. She had let out her anger and now she felt calmer. The anger had died out but the pain in her heart was still there. It was not as painful as before but it was there, barely noticeable but existed.

"I'm so pissed at you….," she mumbled, her eyes stayed close. "But I can stay piss for long. I love you too much to get mad at you or hate you…." Aoi slowly opened her eyes which were brimming with tears. "Oh, little stars! I know you can hear my broken heart… Can you give me strength so that I can continue living? So that I can move on?," she asked the little stars that were shining above her. She waited but the stars gave her no reply. She let out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes again.

Tsunade was standing at the window of her office. She gazed outside, her face looked troubled. "You're still worry about her?," a voice asked and the door clicked close. Tsunade didn't have to turn around to know it was Shizune. She just nodded without turning her head. "I made you some tea. It might calm you down..," Shizune told her. Tsunade heard the sound of the cup placed on her table, but she still didn't turn around. "I'm sure Aoi-sama is fine, wherever she is..," Shizune started, trying to comfort the Hokage. Tsunade sighed. "Shizune, I want to be alone…." Shizune nodded and closed the door behind her as she went out. Tsunade sighed again.

Aoi slowly opened her eyes. It was already morning. She had fallen asleep by the river bed. But when she stood up, she was surprised to see she had a blanket on her. She clutched the blanket. "Who….," she muttered to herself as she looked around. She got up and folded the blanket neatly. She was still puzzled by the blanket but she thanked whoever who had gave her the blanket. It had keot her warm through the night. Aoi stretched and took in a deep breath. "A brand new day, for a brand new start…," she encouraged herself. She looked at the blanket. "I'm still sad and hurt," she confessed.

"But that's not the reason to stop on living!," she shouted as she ran happily towards the village. Aoi may not notice it but there was a shadow lurking in the bushes. From behind the bushes, the shadow watched her. The shadow had watched her since she first came to the waterfall and let out her fume. The shadow had stayed with her through the night. Looking at Aoi; shivering because of the cold, the shadow had wrapped the blanket around her. The shadow had smiled when she saw her satisfied face as she wrapped the blanket tighter around her. The shadow had watched her and he will continue watching her…..

Aoi entered her apartment and headed towards the shower. After shower, she made herself a light breakfast. She noticed that her body was dreary and weak and she had the symptoms of cold. She decided to go to the hospital to get some medicine. She knew it was because the night she spent by the waterfall, sleeping in her wet clothes. "I could've gotten worst, if not for the blanket…," she mumbled to herself as she glanced at the blanket which she placed on her bed.

On her way to the hospital, Aoi met a lot of people. Many of the people welcomed her back and asked about her health. She treated them kindly and warmly. She knew she had no reasons to treat such nice people other than with open hearts. Aoi whistled as she entered the hospital. She had received her medicine and was about to leave when she noticed the hospital was crowded than usual.

"Why is it so crowded in here?," she asked one of the nurses. "Oh, one of our medic-nin is out for a mission so our hands are quite full..," she explained politely as she pushed the wheelchair of an old man with a broken leg. Aoi nodded. She looked around she felt pitied for the people. So, she decided to stay at the hospital and helped. She was a medic-nin and she had vast experience with injuries and wounds.

Tsunade entered the hospital and looked around. She called Shizune. "You told me they needed me at the hospital. But it's doesn't seemed like it," Tsunade told Shizune as she looked around herself. "That's what they told me, but I guess they finished with all the patinents….," Shizune explained with a puzzled face. A nurse walked by and Shizune called her. "Didn't you called Tsunade-sama here because you said you needed extra help?," she asked.

The nurse gasped and nodded. "We did. But we found a volunteer and she was indeed a big help. I'm so sorry. I forgot to inform you about it…," she bowed and apologized. Tsunade waved her hand and asked who was the volunteer. She wanted to thank the volunterr herself. "Oh, she's in the lounge. Talking with some of the nurses… Excuse me…," the nurse replied and bowed before she leaved.

Both Tsunade and Shizune looked at each other. They walked towards the lounge. From outside, they could hear giggles and laughter. Tsunade opened the door. The giggles and laughter died instantly. There was a woman without a nurse's uniform. She had her back turned towards Tsunade. Tsunade was shocked when she turned around.

"Aoi!," she exclaimed. Aoi smiled and waved at Tsunade. "Good morning, Tsunade-sensei!," she chirped cherrfully. Tsunade noticed the cheerfulness in Aoi's voice, She lurched forward and held Aoi by her shoulders. "I was so worried about you yesterday! Are you ok?," she told her as she looked at Aoi worriedly. Aoi smiled. "I'm fine. I just needed to let out some fume yesterday. I'm fine now!," she told her former teacher, not a lie but also not the truth.

Tsunade nodded, clearly relieved. "So, you're the volunteer," Shizune exclaimed as she emerged from behind Tsunade. Aoi nodded. "I came here for some cold medicine. When I saw the crowd, just felt like I should help. So, I did," Aoi explained. Tsunade smiled and nodded approvingly but froze afterwards. "Cold medicine? You catch cold?," Tsunade shouted. Aoi flinched and replied, "Not really a cold. Felt like I'm catching one so I came for the medicine. But I feel fine now. Probably because all the work I had done…," Aoi explained fast.

Tsunade nodded, satisfied. Suddenly, the lounge door was opened. "There's that boy again, who always used out his chakura during practice," she mumbled as she walked into the room. "You mean Naruto-kun?," one nurse who was chatting with Aoi before asked back. The burse who just came in nodded. Aoi was out of the room before Tsunade could even formed her sentence.

Aoi walked towards the entrance. She saw Sasuke was carrying Naruto while Sakura looked worriedly at Naruto. Kakashi was walking behind them, reading his book. "What happened?," she asked as she wheeled a wheel chair towards Sasuke. Sasuke placed the unconscious Naruto on the wheelchair. "The dope tried too hard during practice and used up all his chakura," Sasuke replied and started wheeling the wheelchair. "Where to?," he asked as he walked towards the empty beds. Aoi ran to him and asked him to follow her.

Naruto was sleeping on the bed. Aoi had checked him and like Sasuke said, he used up his chakura. "It would be a while before he regain conscious..," Aoi turned to look at the Uchiha prodigy who was leaning by the wall. She looked and him and it took her a while to notice. "You had injured yourself!," she exclaimed with horror as she saw a cut at his left arm. Ssuke lifted his arm and looked at the wound. "It's nothing….," he mumbled. Before he could say anything else, Aoi was already pulling him towards a treatment room.

Sasuke watched her as she cleaned the wound. He hissed when the antiseptic touched the wound. She looked up and smiled apologetically. "Sorry.. Should've warn you about that…. It stings right?." Ssauke snorted and looked away. Aoi continued cleaning the wound. "This cut is pretty deep. You should got yourself a medical attention..," she muttered as she brought Sasuke's hand closely to her face to examine the wound. "Kunai? Direct attack from the front?," she guessed. Sasuke nodded, quite amazed. "How did you know that?," he blurted out before he could've stopped himself. Aoi smiled.

"I spent all my life watching people got slash in front of me. After a while, you'll just have the rough ideas…," she explained as she turned around and took an ointment from the shelf. She placed the ointment on the table and opened the lid. Sasuke saw a white pearly gel in it. "What's that? Never saw that before…," he mumbled. "This, is a hand-made ointment. I received it from a friend of mine..," she explained as she swabbed the gel with her index finger.

Slowly, she rubbed the gel on his wound. "Tell me if it hurts ok?," she told him as she gently rubbed the gel on his wound. Sasuke nodded. He watched Aoi without blinking his eyes. 'Her hand is so soft and gentle… The gel is cool but her tough is warm. Wonder what she'll do if I yelped in pain?," Sasuke talked to himself. He smirked and waited for an opening.

Aoi swabbed the gel again and when she started rubbing, Saske yelped in a pain. "Ouch!," he exclaimed. Aoi stopped rubbing and looked at him. "Hurt?," she asked in concern. He nodded. Aoi brought his hand closed to her mouth and started blowing slowly and gently on the wound. Sasuke was stunned cause he didn't expected her to do that. He thought she would be startled and apologized like mad. Aoi kept on blowing for a few seconds. Finally, she lifted her face and asked him. "Still hurt?." Sasuke shook his head slowly. Aoi smiled. "Good.. Let's continue. I'll be gentler this time…"

"Thanks…," he blurted out with lack of passion as he walked out of the room. "No problem. Just find me if you're injured or something!!," she replied happily. Sasuke had walked a few steps when she called him. "Sasuke-kun! Wait!." Sasuke stopped and turned around. Aoi walked to him and held out her hand. She had the ointment on her palm.

"Take this. Use it to heal your wound. Dress your wound neatly ok? If possible, avoid contact with water..," she took his hand and placed the ointment on his palm. Then, she smiled gently and turned around to leave. Sasuke stood there, watching her leave like a dumbstruck person. When she vanished for his view, he looked down at the ointment. He unconsciously clenched the ointment.


	37. Chapter 37

BLOND HAIR

CHPTER 37: COME CLEAN.

Aoi woke up early in the morning; determine to finish the puzzle of her life once and for all. She decided to come clean with Naruto. She will meet him today and tell him the truth; he's her son. She knew it will be a big shock to Naruto and she realized that Naruto might reject her. She had prepared herself. She will accept whatever Naruto's reaction.

Aoi walked towards the administration building. She wanted to notify Tsunade about what she will be doing. She knew Tsunade might persuade to give it some tome but she was determined. She entered Tsunade's office and saw her was going through some paperwork. "I plan to tell him today….," she started when she sat in front of Tsunade. Tsunade looked up from behind the papers. She put the papers down. "You sure?," she asked back. Aoi nodded. "You know he might reject you…..," Tsunade clarified the fact. Aoi nodded again. Tsunade sighed. "Then good luck!." Aoi smiled and walked out of the office.

Aoi walked towards the training ground by the forest. She found out that Team 7 had no missions today. She decided that they were practicing so she headed towards the training ground. When she reached there, she saw Sasuke was sparring with Naruto. Kakashi was standing under a tree, watching them. Sakura was no where to be seen. Kakashi saw her and nodded. Aoi walked towards Kakashi and stood beside him as she watched Naruto and Sasuke. "What brings you here?," he asked after a few minute.

"I'm going to tell him the truth..," she replied. Her eyes were fixed on Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi nodded. "I'll wait till they finished sparring…" Kakashi shrugged. "That may take some time. Plus, he'll be too tired after the spar…," he explained. "Then, I'll just have to wait.. I've waited for almost 10 years. A few more hours won't hurt…"

About two hours later, Sasuke and Naruto stopped sparring. Both of them were panting and they were too tired to launch an attack. "That's it you two. Get some rest…," Kakashi commanded. They nodded and headed to where Kakashi and Aoi were standing. Aoi smiled at them when they approached. Naruto waved to her while Sasuke looked away.

When they reached the tree, both of them fell sitting on the ground. "I'm so tired!," he whined. "You two get some rest first. We'll continue after this. In the mean time..," Kakashi turned to Aoi. "Care for a round?," he invited. Aoi smirked. "Bring it on, boy!."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at Kakashi, surprised. They only saw Aoi fought once, when they first met. Aoi and Kakashi walked slowly to the field. They stood facing each other.

"Hand to hand combat. First one who landed a hit wins… Agree?," Kakashi explained. Aoi nodded, smirking. "Quite some time since we had done this right?," she started as she went into her fighting stance. Kakashi prepared himself. Naruto and Sasuke watched with interest. Sakura who just came back greeted them but were ignored by both Naruto and Sasuke. She starting to tell them about what she found in the forest. "Shut up!," Sasuke hissed. His remark hurt her but she followed their eyes and saw that Aoi and Kakashi were ready to fight. "Oh!," she exclaimed when she understood why they ignored here.

"Ladies first…," Kakashi muttered. Aoi smirked and lurched forward. She started attacking Kakashi with punches and kicks. Her speed was a match to Kakashi. Kakashi blocked all of her rapid attack. "Still the same old Aoi," he mumbled. Aoi said nothing, just continue smirking. "You ain't see nothing yet…."

Aoi jumped to the back and gained some distance from Kakashi. Kakashi watched her. "This is my new move. Tell me what you think about it…," she said as she walked towards him. Before Kakashi could respond, she had dashed towards him. Kakashi prepared to block a kick from her right leg that was heading towards his right rib.

Just seconds before her kick landed on his hand which was protecting his rib, she pulled back her right and use the right leg to hop. With the hop, she changed her attack and her left kick kicked the left side of Kakashi that wasn't protected. Kakashi was thrown to the right, but he control himself and landed on the ground safely.

He held his left rib as he landed squatting. He tried to stand up. "I wouldn't do that if I were you…," Aoi warned as she pulled her leg. He ignored her and jerked to stand up. The moment his body straighten, the pain in his rib tripled. He fell to the ground kneeling as he held his rib tightly. Aoi smirked and walked towards him. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura ran towards their teacher.

Aoi knelt in front of him. Kakashi was frowning from the pain. His students stood besides him. "That was your new move? The hopping thing?," he asked. Aoi shook her head. "The hop was a trick to change my attack at the last minute. That's my old move… New to you I guess. The new move was when I kicked you. It hurts, doesn't it? Say three times more?," Aoi guessed.

Kakashi nodded. Aoi smiled. "Let me take a look at that…," she told him. Kakashi pulled his shirt up. Sakura gasped. "How come there's no bruise? There's not even a sign that he was kicked," she analyzed. Aoi nodded. "Seconds before I kicked you, I concentrated some chakura at my kicking feet. The damage is done inside. Not outside. It's the same as Hyuuga's Jyuuken, only that I don't see the chakura holes. Plus, I concentrated the chakura only seconds before the hit landed. It saves chakura. I used only small amount of chakura, but I guess it still hurts right?," she looked at him with a guilty face.

"Nothing that I can't take," he defended. Aoi smiled and hovered her hands on the place she kicked. Blue light emitted from her hand. It continued for a while and she stopped. She stood up and looked at Kakashi. Kakashi pulled down his shirt. "Thanks for that," Kakashi thanked her as he stood up. Aoi smiled.

"So, I guess you're the loser here.. How about a treat.?," she chirped. Kakashi froze. Before anyone could do anything, he disappeared with a puff of smoke. "Oww… I though we can eat lunch for free today!!," Naruto moaned. Sasuke was expressionless while Sakura was a little disappointed. "Who said we can't?," Aoi asked puzzled. The three of them looked at her. "He's gone. How's he supposed to pay when he's not here?," Sakura asked Aoi. Aoi smirked and showed them what she was holding in her hand. They gasped. "We don't need him. As long as we have his purse…," she laughed.

"When did…?," Sasuke blurted. He himself wasn't that fast to grab Kakashi's purse when he was disappearing. Aoi grinned. "He's fast. But not fast enough for me!." They nodded as they gulped down. They have forgotten that Aoi was a ninja, a very powerful one. "Let's go! Seeing that we have all his money, we can eat anywhere…," she pulled their hands and they headed towards the village.

Kakashi walked towards his apartment. "Thank God I escaped fast enough. If not, my money will disappear," he reached for his purse. He froze when he realized his purse was gone. "Aoi…," he whispered in horror and he ran towards the village. He had to find them before they finished all of his money.

Aoi, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto was eating dinner in the restaurant happily. "Order anything you want. It's Kakashi's treat!," she announced to the three of them. They giggled. "He shouldn't mess with you around ne," Sakura pointed out. Aoi nodded. "Maybe he's forgotten about that. It's been quite some time since we last saw each other..," Aoi laughed and took a sip from her orange juice.

After an hour, they finished their food and they were chatting. "Oh, Aoi-sama. Why did you come to the training ground today?," Sakura asked when she remembered. Aoi realized she had forgotten the real reason she had come. "Well.. I have something to talk with Naruto…," she explained. "Huh? Me?," Naruto was surprised. Aoi nodded. "You can talk to me right now!," Naruto suggested. "Well…It's a personal thing..," Aoi trailed off. Sakura noticed that Aoi wasn't so comfortable to talk about it with her and Sasuke around.

"Maybe we should leave so that you two could talk," she looked at Sasuke as she stood up. Sasuke ignored her, he wanted to know what Aoi was going to tell Naruto. He wasn't very interested in Naruto but he wanted to stay and hear what Aoi was going to say. Naruto looked at Sakura. "It's ok Sakura-chan. You can stay. I have nothing to hide from the two of you….," Naruto insisted. Sakura sighed and sat down again.

Aoi watched them. "Ok, if you insist… Well.. How to start.. ok!," she mumbled and lifted her head. "You know that I have.. had a husband…," she started. Naruto nodded. "The Fourth Hokage.. Yeah, why?," he asked back. Sasuke and Sakura were surprised. They knew nothing much about Aoi. "You're married? To the Fourth?," Sakura gasped. Aoi nodded. It made them listen carefully.

"The night he died was the night I gave birth to my son. But he died, or so I was told. The truth is, he didn't die at that time. My husband took our baby and sealed the Kyuubi inside of him…" Sasuke and Sakura froze. "That means..," Sasuke muttered. Aoi nodded. Naruto was still clueless. He looked at Sasuke with confusion. "The Kyuubi was sealed inside of me….," Naruto thought out loud, he still don't understand. "That means…," Sakura muttered. Aoi nodded. "Naruto, you are my son," Aoi whispered loud enough to be heard by the three of them. Naruto was astound. He flabbergasted. "No.. it couldn't be.. They said my mother died when she gave birth to me.. She died…" He stopped when he remembered what Iruka told him.

"_They're willing to die for each other. The Fourth died protecting the village, at the same time protecting her. She died trying to revive her. She used up all her chakura to revive the Fourth after the fight. But they both died. That was what everyone thought until she came back. Konoha's Romoe and Juliet. It was a tragic love story_."

"They thought you died but you didn't die….," Naruto muttered as the reality sunk into him. Aoi nodded sadly, she was watching the confused Naruto with a pain expression. Naruto jerked up from his seat and started running out of the restaurant. Sakura called him. "Naruto!." She stood up and watched him. "I'll go after him. Sasuke, you stay her with Aoi-sama….," Sakura directed as she ran out; following Naruto.

Sasuke didn't reply or anything. Aoi said nothing, staring at her plate. After a while looked up. With a small forced smile, "I better get back. He need some time to think. I'll find him when he's calm..," she told Sasuke as she slowly stood up. Sasuke stood up and announced. "I'll walk you home…" Aoi nodded and thanked him. They wlaked out of the restaurant side by side.

Naruto jumped from a rooftop to another. "Naruto!!," he could hear Sakura was calling him from behind but he didn't stopped. "Naruto! Stop… Argh!!!." Naruto stopped and turned around. He saw Sakura had tripped and she was rubbing her knee. He ran to her. "Are you ok, Sakura-chan?," he asked her. Sakura looked up and saw Naruto was helding out his hand towards her. Sakura took his hand and he pulled her up. They stood facing each other. "Naruto…," Sakura started. Naruto turned around and walked a few steps forward. He sat at the edge of the roof. Sakura sighed and walked to him. She sat by his side.

Aoi and Sasuke walked in silence. "The moon is very beautiful tonight…," Aoi commented as she looked up and saw the moon. She stopped and stared at the moon. Sasuke watched her. Aoi sighed as she closed her eyes. "No need to worry.. He'll come back to you..," he muttered. Aoi opened her eyes and looked at Sasuke. She smiled. "Yeah.. Maybe…," she replied as she continued walking. "He's an idiot if he rejects you. Everyone wants a mother….," Sasuke trailed off. Aoi nodded. "You too?," she asked without looking at him.

"Having a mother won't be too bad, I guess…," he replied uncertainly. Aoi stopped walking. She turned to face Sasuke. "Do you miss her?," she asked. Sasuke looked away. He didn't reply anything. "Sometimes…," he finally whispered slowly, but Aoi heard him. Aoi watched the boy in front of him. Her heart broke when she remembered what happened to his family. Sasuke looked up and saw how she was looking at him.

"I don't need pity from you! All of you are the same, you either look at me with pity or hatred," Sasuke snarled. His words didn't hurt her at all, she knew it was the words of the wounded.. Sasuke was pissed. "Stop looking at me like …..". Without much thinking, Aoi leaned forward and pulled Sasuke into her arm. Aoi's action surprised both Sasuke and herself. She hugged him tightly. At first, Sasuke struggled but he stopped when he felt the more he struggled, the tighter she hugged him.

Sasuke let himself hugged by Aoi. He felt powerless. He hated being powerless compared to anything but he knew he couldn't do nothing. Her embrace was too warm and calming, he knew he couldn't escaped. "I don't pity you, Sasuke. I care for you…," she whispered. Sasuke didn't reply but Aoi knew he accepted what she had said. "You miss her, don't you?," she asked him in a whisper. Sasuke nodded slowly. "I can't replace her. That's a fact. No one can replace you mother. But if you need someone, I'm willing to be that person. You can always come to me…."

Aoi waited for his answer but he didn't nod nor shake his head. She sighed, feeling defeated. But she knew the answer when he curled his arm around her waits. She smiled and tighten her hold. She kissed the top of the boy's head. "You'll be just fine….'

The shadow watched Aoi since she left the restaurant. He knew that the boy who was walking with her was Uchiha Sasuke. He smirked. But his smirk vanished as he watched Aoi hugged the boy. And his anger grew when he saw the boy curled his filthy arm around her waist. He decided that he should show himself.

"I kinda had the feeling that she's.. a mother. I want her to be my mother.. But when I heard it with my own ear, about the truth, it's kinda… mind boggling….", Naruto told Sakura as he looked up at the moon. Sakura nodded. "You just need some time to accept it…," Sakura rephrased. Naruto nodded. Sakura nodded slowly.

Aoi let Sasuke go. "Okay?," she asked. Sasuke nodded, slightly embarrassed. "So, let's continue walking me back home," she chirped as she continued walking. Sasuke walked by her side.

Suddenly, they stopped walking when they noticed there's someone standing in their way. They couldn't tell who was it because the person was covered by the building's shadow. After a while, the person stepped forward, letting the moonlight shone on his face, letting Aoi and Sasuke recognized him.

"Hello.. Am I interrupting something?," he greeted. Aoi tensed as Sasuke growled when they saw that person. He had red eyes which was blazing like blood.

After Naruto had walked Sakura back, he himself headed back to his apartment. He had a very tiring day. His spar with Sasuke took all his energy and hearing the truth about Aoi added the burden. Naruto sighed and quicken his pace. He was thinking only about his bed.

"Itachi….," Sasuke snarled through gritted teeth. Itachi smirked. "Love to see you again little brother. But 'm not here for you…," he told Sasuke and turned to look at Aoi as he walked towards them. Sasuke was about t lurch towards his brother but Aoi raised her hand, stopping him. "Calm down Sasuke….," she whispered, her eyes were fixed on Itachi. Sasuke looked at Aoi, considered his choice and he stopped.

Itachi's smirk went wider. "Looks like you've tamed him, Aoi," he commented. Aoi smiled back at him. "You mean like I tamed you before?," she asked sarcastically. His smile vanished. This time it was Sasuke's turn to smirk. "What do you want, Itachi? You shouldn't be here..," Aoi asked him. "And you're supposed to catch me. They will be suspicious if you let me go just like that," Itachi replied. Aoi snorted. "You don't have to worry about that…,"Aoi told him. Itachi looked deeply into her eyes.

"Sasuke, whatever you do, don't look at him straight in the eye!," Aoi warned Sasuke. Sasuke nodded. "You told him to do something that you yourself not doing…," Itachi commented when he noticed that Aoi was looking at him straight in the eye. Aoi said nothing. "You know I could send you to hell if you continue looking into my eyes…," Itachi threatened. Aoi smiled.

"I've been through my own hell, Itachi. Yours doesn't scare me," Aoi replied. "You seemed sure…," he commented. Aoi stared at him in the eye. "Why are you doing this? Getting involved with my broher?," he asked her calmly, eyes still fixed on her. Aoi sighed. "I just want to stop history from repeating itself…" Itachi raised his brow. "History? You mean me?," he asked with interest. Aoi nodded sadly.

"When you told me why you did it, I feel guilty. And if I can ever stop it from happening again, I will. It maybe too late for you, but not for him…," she whispered. Sasuke heard what Aoi was saying and he can only guess what I meant. Itachi nodded.

They stared at each other for a few minutes before Itachi started to turn around and walk away. Aoi looked at him walked away. "Itachi!," Aoi called. Itachi turned slightly. "Thanks for the blanket..," she thanked him. Itachi looked surprised. "You knew it was me?," he asked. Aoi nodded. "Yeah, since I reached there. I noticed you were around. But I was too sad and angry to care…," Aoi confessed. Itachi smirked. "That was indeed a rare sight..," he commented. Aoi nodded, slightly embarrassed. Itachi smirked and walked away.

Sasuke heard Itachi's footsteps. He lurched forward, angered. Aoi caught him by the wrist. "Let him go.. it's not the time… yet," she advised. Sasuke gritted his teeth but he stopped. Aoi gave him a small smile. "I'm going home..," Sasuke muttered and walked the opposite way which Itachi had went. "See you again…," Aoi waved at him. She watched him until he faded from her sight. Aoi sighed. "I'll try my best. I don't want what had happened to Itachi happens to him too…."


	38. Chapter 38

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 38: YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING.

Naruto woke up early in the morning. He had promised to help Sakura with her training. Sasuke told him that he will be coming but a little late. When he reached the training ground, Sakura was already there, warming up. Naruto waved and she waved back. After warming up, they started training.

Sasuke came an hour later. Sakura was already exhausted and they were taking a break. So, Naruto asked Sasuke to spar with him. Sasuke wanted to turn down his offer but he decided maybe he needed to let his stress out. So, they started fighting.

Naruto realized that Sasuke was distracted even during the fight. That gave Naruto a lot of openings to attack him. Sasuke's move was reckless and obvious. At one point, Naruto attacked him head on and Sasuke failed to dodge. Naruto's attack hit him on the shoulder and he was thrown away to a tree. "Sasuke-kun!," Sakura gasped and ran towards him. Naruto also ran to aid him.

Sasuke hit the tree and collapsed under the tree. He was still conscious but he couldn't move his shoulder. "Sasuke-kun! Are you alright?," Sakura asked as she knelt by his side. Sasuke tried to move his shoulder and grunted. "Sasuke? You ok?," Naruto asked him with a concern face. Sasuke didn't reply. "I think he dislocated his shoulder…," Sakura guessed. "Then, we better take him to the hospital now!," Naruto announced as he helped Sasuke to get up. The three of them headed to the hospital.

Aoi was looking through the medicine supply when a nurse called her. "Aoi-sama! We have a patient who had dislocated his shoulder. Can you treat him?," she informed her. "Dislocated shoulder? I'll see what I can do…," she replied as she followed the nurse. When she entered the treatment room, she was surprised. "Naruto?Sasuke? Sakura?," she exclaimed. Sakura nodded at her while Naruto looked away. Sasuke was sitting on the bed, grimacing with pain. "Sasuke, you dislocated your shoulder?," she questioned as she approached him. "I think he dislocated it. We don't know for sure…," Sakura replied.

Aoi nodded. She took a scissors. "I'm going have to cut your shirt. There's no way you can open it by yourself with your injured shoulder…." Sasuke nodded and Aoi started cutting the shirt. "Hm…," she hummed to herself, thinking as she toke a look at the shoulder. She stroked his shoulder, putting pressure at certain places. "It's dislocated… We have two ways to treat this; One, fast and painful. Second, slow and comfortable," she explained. "You can choose…," she informed him.

"The fast and painful one; you don't mean you forced the bone back into it's place, do you?," Sakura asked with a worried face. "Yes.. and it hurts like hell. Usually, people faint because of the pain…," she explained. Sakura shuddered. "The slow way, how long will it take?," Naruto asked reluctantly. "Around 3 months. During that period, no heavy work; meaning no mission or training…," she explained. Both Sakura and Naruto nodded.

"I choose the fast one..," Sasuke decided. Sakura and Naruto wanted to object but they knew it would be useless. Aoi looked at Sasuke. "Are you sure? I have to wanr you. The pain is beyond imagination….," she advised. "Then you're advising me to take the second choice?," Sasuke asked back, testing Aoi. Aoi sighed and shook her head. "Even so, you won't change your mind, right?." She smiled. Sasuke nodded. "Tell me when your ready to do it…," Aoi informed him. "Now..," Sasuke muttered. Aoi nodded. "Now, it is…"

"Sakura, Naruto? Can you leave this room for a while?," Aoi requested. Sakura nodded and pulled Naruto out. Ai closed the door when they had exited. She walked to Sasuke and stood in front of him. "Ready?," she asked as she placed her hands on his shoulder. Sasuke nodded. Aoi nodded and with all her might, she twisted his shoulder back into it's place. "Argh!!!!!!"

Naruto and Sakura was pacing outside the room when they heard the short scream of pain. Sakura reached for Naruto's hand and squeezed it tightly when she heard it. They both look at the door of the treatment room.

Sasuke told himself not to scream but when Aoi twisted his shoulder, there was an explosion of pain and the scream just escaped his mouth. The pain was only for a while. Sasuke was panting when Aoi let go of his shoulder. "It's ok now…," she comforted him. Sasuke leaned his head on Aoi's shoulder, his breathing was hard. Aoi stroke his back gently and comforted him. "It's ok now.. It's over…." Sasuke nodded as he gulped down.

About 5 minutes after he scream, Aoi came out from the room. "How's he? We heard the scream….," Sakura rushed to Aoi as soon as she saw her. Aoi smiled. "He's fine.. He's resting now.. you can take a look but he's sleeping..," she in formed Sakura. Sakura let out a sigh of relief. She thanked Aoi and went into the room. There were only Aoi and Naruto, facing each other at the corridor.

"About last night…," Naruto started. Aoi smiled. "I understand. You were shocked…" Naruto nodded. "Take your time..," Aoi told him as she walked away. "Oka-chan!," Naruto called and Aoi stopped dead at her track. Slowly, she turned around. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "What did you say?," she asked with disbelief.

Naruto looked away, embarrassed. "I called you, Oka-chan…," he muttered. Aoi's face lighten up. She ran towards Naruto and hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered, crying as she said that. Naruto nodded and hugged her back. "I always wanted a mother. And now god had gave me one. Only an idiot would reject this gift…"

From the door that was slightly opened, Sakura watched the mother and son. She had tears in her eyes. She wiped it and smiled. She was happy for her friend. She turned and looked at Sasuke who was sleeping. She sighed and muttered. "I hope you can be as happy as him, Sasuke…" Little did she know that Sasuke was happy; he had found himself someone he could turn to if anything bad happened.

Aoi hugged Naruto for a while before she released him. She straighten herself and wiped the tears on her face. "So, I guess from now, we'll have a mother-son relationship," she told him. Naturo nodded. "Yeah.. But how?," he asked , puzzled. Aoi thought for a while.

"Well.. We can start by having dinner together… If you want, you can sleep at my… our house. You still remember the room you slept in before?," Aoi asked. Naruto still remember. He was unconscious in the forest so Aoi had taken him back to her house. "We, me and your father made that room for you…," Aoi explained with a sad expression. Naruto didn't know why but he hated to see Aoi's sad face.

"Then, I'll come by for dinner tonight!," Naruto announced. Aoi looked at him surprised but she smiled. Aoi nodded. "I'll make something special..," she replied. Naruto nodded, grinning.

Sakura came out from the room. Naruto walked to her. "How's Sasuke?," he inquired. Sakura shook her head with a smile. "He's resting…. I guess he'll be just fine..," she informed him. Naruto nodded. "I still have some things to finish, so I'll be on my way…," Aoi informed them. "See you tonight!," Aoi chirped and waved before she walked to the medical supply room.

Aoi and Naruto spent the night talking about lots of things. They talked and laughed a lot. After the dinner, Naruto told Aoi that he was heading home. Aoi nodded. "Are you practicing with your team tomorrow?," she asked. Naruto shook his head. "I was supposed to spar with Sasuke but now he's injured and all…," he replied. "You can spar with me!," Aoi suggested. Naruto grinned. "Really? Then, I'll see you tomorrow at the training ground!." Aoi nodded and they waved goodbye to each other. Aoi walked into the kitchen and took a bag that was placed on the table. She walked outside the house. She had someone she wanted to meet.

When Sasuke woke up from sleep, he saw a dark room. Slowly, he sat up and looked around. The room was quite big and there was a window at his left side. He sighed. Suddenly he felt a pain. But not a physical pain. It was from his heart. 'What do you expect? Wake up and find her next to your bed?,' he scolded himself. After a while, he heard footsteps and the door opened slowly. A hand reached through the door and switched on the light.

Sasuke looked away from the light. He was adjusted to the darkness that the light was blinding him. "Oh, sorry about that," a voice apologized. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and squinted to look at the owner of the voice. When he could see clearly, he saw Aoi walked towards him, smiling.

"I thought you might wake up and feel hungry so I brought you dinner..," she explained as she placed a bag on the table by his bed and started taking out food from the bag. Sasuke was so shocked to her there. He was more shocked when he saw the food she brought. But after a while, he smiled with bliss.

Aoi placed the food she had prepared in front of him. Sasuke looked at the food. Then, he looked at Aoi. Aoi was confused. "What's wrong? You don't like it?," she asked with concern. Sasuke nodded and pointed to his shoulder that was bandaged. "Oh! I forgot! Sorry!." Aoi took the container and hold the spoon. "I'll help you with that!," she announced. She scooped some of the rice with the spoon and brought it close to Sasuke's face. Sasuke looked at Aoi skeptically. "What? Don't worry! No one's watching!," she convinced him. Sasuke looked at her and the rice. Finally, he opened his mouth.

Sasuke went back to sleep after the dinner. Aoi watched him as he drifted to sleep. When she was sure he had fallen asleep, she stood up. Gently, she stroke his hair and kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, Sasuke," she whispered and turned around to leave. When Aoi was out of the room, Sasuke opened his eyes. He smiled. He rubbed his forehead where Aoi had kissed him and closed his eyes, still smiling.

The next morning, Naruto arrived after Aoi had arrived. Aoi told him to warm up first. Naruto nodded and started warming up. While warming up, he noticed a picnic basket under the tree. "What's that?," he asked Aoi as he stretched his hand. Aoi turned to look. "Oh, I thought we cab have lunch here so I brought some food," she explained. Naruto grinned. "You know me too well…," he told her, laughing. Aoi smiled back. After Naruto finished warming up, they spared for almost 4 hours. After sparring, Aoi aske Naruto a few things about the way he fought.

"You always attack your opponent directly, I noticed," she waited for Naruto's reply. "Really? I only know how to fight that way. Though I do make tricks sometimes," he grinned. Aoi smiled. "So, I've heard… You always use Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…." Naruto nodded. "You know… You can fight better if you increased your speed," she suggested. Naruto was puzzled. "Like Fuzzy Eyebrow?," he blurted. Aoi laughed. "You mean Rock Lee? Yes…," she laughed when she heard Naruto called Lee that way. "He wears weight. Would that help with my speed?," Naruto asked. Aoi nodded. "Yes, but you have to wear it all the time, especially during training..," she informed him. Naruto thought about what Aoi said. Aoi waited. Before Naruto could answer, his stomach answered for him. Aoi laughed when she heard Naruto's stomach; growling for food. "Let's have lunch ok?." Naruto nodded with excitement.

Naruto and Aoi was having their lunch under the tree. Aoi had spread out a mat and they ate their lunch on it. Even during lunch, Naruto kept asking about ways to improve himself. Aoi answered his question patiently; noticing that Naruto wasn't keen about complicated explanation. After lunch, they decided to take a walk around town. Whenever they went, people are always looking and them and whispering. Naruto lowered his head, remembering about his childhood.

But before he could remembered any of the negative images, he felt Aoi was holding his hand and she was pulling him to one of the store. "What the?," he murmured to himself. Aoi ignored him and went straight into the crowd. "Good afternoon everyone!," she greeted the crowd. They nodded their head to her and replied, "Good morning Aoi-sama!." Aoi was smiling widely. "I just want to share good new with you people. I just found out that Naruto here, is MY SON!," she emphasized the word 'my son'. Most of the people in the crowd gasped, not believing what she said. Aoi nodded and waved goodbye.

Naruto was as red as a ripe tomato. "What was that?," he asked Aoi. Aoi smiled. "I felt like I want to announce to the whole world about you being my son," she replied cheerfully. Her hand was still holding Naruto. Naruto said nothing. He was embarrassed with what Aoi had done but deep inside, he was proud and touched. "The whole world? You only told a crowd of people….," he muttered. Aoi stopped walking and leaned towards him, smiling. "My son, rumors and gossip spread like wild fire here in Konoha. Believe me when I said the whole town had already know by now!," she explained.

They continued walking. Naruto realized what Aoi said was right as they walked through the town. He could heard whispers such as 'her son' 'Aoi's son' 'the Fourth and her son' 'Naruto's mother'. For the first time in his life, he smiled when he heard people whispered about him.

Starting that day, Naruto spent the days like any ordinary mother and son would. Aoi cooked him delicious dinner and fatten him up. She nursed him when he came back from training or mission, bruising and injured all over the place. They spent the weekends going for a picnic or practice together and sometimes they would just walk and talk. It was a great time for both Naruto and Aoi.

Aoi had a good relationship with Naruto but not Naruto alone. She had established a relationship with Sasuke that was puzzling for others. Aoi thought of Sasuke as her own son. Every night, they have dinner together. Aoi, Naruto and Sasuke. But after dinner, Sasuke would returned to his house while Naruto stayed with her. Naruto and Sasuke were like brothers and their company really brightened her life. Slowly, she began to forget about the sadness and anger she felt before. At the moment, she was just enjoying the bliss God had gifted her. But she had a dreadful feeling the bliss was temporary…


	39. Chapter 39

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 39: MY SONS…

They had just finished dinner for that night. Aoi was cleaning the dishes while Sasuke helped her. Tonight, it was Sasuke's turn to help her with the dishes. Naruto was sting on the couch, watching the TV without much interest. After they finished with the dishes, Sasuke announced that he was heading back. "Oh, Naruto. Could you buy me some groceries? You can go with Sasuke on the way to the store," Aoi requested. Naruto nodded and followed Sasuke. They waved at Aoi and closed the door.

Aoi smiled as she watched them through the window. They were arguing; Naruto was yelling while Sasuke just replied calmly but Aoi knew it was very sarcastically. Aoi smiled again and went inside the house. She was planning to do laundry before going to sleep. While she was loading the dirty clothes into the washing machine, she felt a familiar chakura. She instantly put the basket down, grabbed her equipment and followed the chakura. "Itachi…," she whispered as she dashed through the cold night wind.

Naruto and Sasuke was heading towards the store when they suddenly felt a strong chakura. They looked up at the same time and saw someone who was wearing the Akatsuki's robe. He smirked at them and started to walk away. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and nodded in unison. They dashed to the roof, tracking the guy they saw.

Aoi dashed through the forest. She stopped when she reached the waterfall. She looked up and saw Itachi was standing on a rock by the edge of the waterfall. "We meet again, Aoi..," she greeted. Aoi jumped from rock to rock and stopped on a rock when she had faced him. "What do you want now?," she asked calmly. Itachi shrugged. "What I've always wanted…," he replied and smirked. "Naruto..," she blurted when she realized what he was saying. Itachi's smirk grew wider.

Aoi disappeared from his view. Aoi was running towards the village. She knew Naruto was in danger. Considering Sasuke was with him, they both could be in danger. Buts she stopped when shuriken were thrown in fornt of her. "I can't let you do that…," Itachi warned. Aoi gritted her teeth. She knew she had to beat him before she could go to Naruto and Sasuke's place. She wasn't worried about beating him; she worried more about the time.

Naruto and Sasuke was running side by side. They could see the Akatsuki member in front of them. As if he slowed his pace so that they could keep up with him, teasing them. His action was irritating Sasuke off but Naruto was pissed. He increased his speed and Sasuke did the same.

Aoi didn't want to fight Itachi. She didn't think she have the heart to do it. "Itachi… I can't fight you..,"Aoi confessed, looking down to the ground. Itachi said nothing, just stared at her with cold eyes. Aoi looked up; her face had a sad expression. Itachi's face didn't change; the cold crimson eyes remained the same. Aoi sighed, and she started running towards the big gate. Itachi couldn't figure out what Aoi was thinking but as long as she didn't head to the village, it was fine by him. But curiosity made him followed her.

Aoi ran towards the big gate. She knew Itachi was following her. She ignored him. "He must be thinking I'm not a threat, that's why he's moving slowly. Well, he's up for a big surprise….," Aoi whispered to herself and smirked.

Naruto and Sasuke stopped when they saw the man that they were pursuing stopped. He turned around. For the first time, they managed to get a good look of him. His face was like a fish; a shrak and he was carrying a huge katana. He smiled at them, showing his sharp teethes.

Aoi kept on running until she reached the big gate. She had placed quite a distance between herself and Itachi. As soon as she reached the big gate, she used her special technique. "Kage Tsubasa no Jutsu!," she screamed after finished the hand-seal. The moment she summoning, a pair of blue emerged from her back. With the wing, she flew up and looked around the village for Naruto and Sasuke. She was flying with incredible speed. Itachi was shocked to see her with the jutsu.

"I can't beat him using the speed of my leg, but with this wing, I can. Plus, it would be difficult for him to track me in the air…," she murmured to herself and headed towards the other side of the village. It didn't take her long to spot Naruto and Sasuke with another member of Akatsuki. Aoi dived like a falcon that spotted its prey.

The Akatsuki member looked up and saw Aoi coming towards him. He jumped backwards as a few shuriken hit the ground he was standing. Naruto and Sasuke looked up. They saw Aoi was descending on the ground. When she was stading in the ground, the blue wings shattered and disappeared. They gasped seeing the beauty of the wings. Aoi turned to look at them. "Are you two ok?," she asked. They nodded.

"Now, I want you to go back to the village and informed Tsunade-sensei about this situation," Aoi commanded. "But!," Naruto objected. "Now!," Aoi raised her voice. Naruto and Sasuke looked at her but she had her back towards them; facing the enemy. Naruto nodded and started to leave. He stopped when he saw Itachi was behind them. Aoi threw a kunai towards Itachi.

Itachi dodged it easily but he didn't expected the kunai to curve and come back to him. He jumped backwards. Aoi seized the opportunity and did a hand seal. "Kage Tsubasa no Jutsu!." Wings emerged from Naruto's and Sasuke's back. Within seconds, they were off the ground; flown to the village.

Aoi smiled when she saw the two of them were safely removed from the place. Itachi's partner tied to chase it but Itachi stopped him. "That wing is too fast. You can't keep up with it," he explained. His partner gritted his teeth and looked at Aoi menacingly. Aoi stared at him with no expression. "If we don't get the boy, I wouldn't mind some with her…," he walked towards Aoi.

Itachi stopped him. "No!," he stated. His partner looked at him, puzzled. "She's off limit!," he informed his partner. Aoi was quite shocked to hear what Itachi said. But she realized it was her chance to run away. Before she could even step backward, she realized Itachi's partner was standing behind her. She jumped away from him. 'He's fast.' "Fast reflex.. This should be interesting…," he commented when Aoi landed on the ground.

"Kisame!," Itachi shouted, trying to stop him. Kisame turned around and mumbled to Itachi. "We come here to get the boy. No one cares what we do as long as we get the boy. Or are you still 'attached' to this village, Itachi?," he stressed, threatening him. Itachi said nothing. "If you don't want to hurt her, stay where you are; I'll do all the hurting. Just don't get in my way…," Kisame warned.

Itachi knew Kisame was right. He knew he couldn't stop Kisae from fighting Aoi. It would show that he was still attached to the village, a string which he had cut loose when he killed his clan years ago. Kisame took a step forward and stared at Aoi. "Draw your weapon, kunoichi.. We're gonna have some fun!..," he laughed.

Naruto and Sasuke flew towards the administration building. The wing disappeared when they reached the ground. They quickly informed the ninja who was on duty to call Tsunade. At first he refused, ignoring the buys but when they told him Aoi sent them, he quickly called.

Naruto was pacing around the meeting room, waiting for Tsunade. Sasuke was sitting, watching Naruto as he walked around. A few minutes later, the door burst opened. Tsunade and Jiraiya rushed in. "What happened?," she demanded. "It's Uchiha Itachi. He's here in Konoho. Right now, Okachan is fighting him," Naruto quickly explained. Tsunade and Jiraiya were horrified by the news. "She's fighting him alone? Where?," Jiraiya asked as he walked towards Naruto. "There another guy with Itachi. The last we saw her was in the forest…," Sasuke informed.

Tsunade called his assistant. "Get a team of ANBU here!," she commanded as she walked out from the room and headed towards the entrance of the building. They followed her. Outside, they saw around 10 ninjas had gathered. "What all of you doing here?," Tsunade asked seriously. "We heard about Aoi-sama. We thought we might be some help..," a ninja answer. Tsunade sighed. "Your help is not needed right now..," she informed them.

Before they could objected, a team of ANBU appeared in front of Tsunade. "You called us?," the leader asked. Tsunade nodded. "Track Aoi down and help her. She's fighting with Uchiha Itachi and a member of Akatsuki! Go!." The ANBU leader nodded and when he turned around, he heard a voice from afar. "That won't be necessary…."


	40. Chapter 40

BLOND HAIR

CHAPTER 40: THE ENDING AND A BEGINNING.

All of them turned. With the help of the moonlight, they were able to see a man was walking towards them. When he got closer, they were able to identify the man. "Uchiha Itachi…."

Aoi was fighting furiously with Kisame.. Her speed was a match to his but she attacked carefully as she knew nothing about the sword he was carrying. He attacked her with his bare hand which made her suspicious as to why he didn't use his sword. "You seemed interested with my sword..," he commented as he attacked her. Aoi didn't reply. She dodged and blocked his attack.

Itachi watched with a clam face. He was watching calmly but the fact was he was worried. Sweat tricked down his back as he watched Aoi and Kisame fought each other. His concern was for Aoi. He couldn't deny that he didn't want to see her injured or hurt in any way. But he can't stop Kisame. That would lead to suspicion and what Kiasame said was true; they were here for the boy. But he didn't want to kill Aoi. He knew he can't do it. But he knew Kisame can and will do it.

After a while, Kisame stopped fighting. "I'm getting tired of this. It's getting nowhere. Kunoichi! Show the best you got and I'll show you mine…," he announced as he pulled his katana out from his back; at the same time, pulling the wrapper around his sword. Aoi watched him as she saw the katana. The katana was ragged at all surfaces. 'I must be careful; a slice from that katana will cause me a lot of pain….' Kisame laughed.

"How do you like my katana, Samehada?," he asked her, showing it to Aoi. Aoi said nothing. "You should like it cause it will be the weapon that kill you!." He laughed. Aoi gritted her teeth, preparing for his attack.

Itachi was more worried than before when he saw Kisame pulled out his katana. But he couldn't do anything. He was torn between saving Aoi; a string that still attach him to Konoha or listen to Kisame; a string to Akatsuki which he had tried hard to attach himself to. He could only watch from the side; hoping and praying Aoi could someone escape though he knew the chances were slim.

Aoi felt more powerless each time she blocked the katana. Kisame just kept on smiling and attacked furiously. Aoi realized that the katana was sucking her chakura whenever she made contact with the sword. She tried to avoid contact with the katana but Kisame was attacking so hard and fast, she had to do direct contact to block the attack.

Kisame smirked. He realized Aoi had noticed his katana's ability just by observing. He was happy to meet such a worthy opponent. He knew she was no match against him but he wanted to play with her for awhile.

Finally, Kisame was tired with his game. He decided to end the game. Aoi seemed tired but she won't give up easily which convinced Kisame to end the gane immediately. He stopped attacking. "I had enough game. I respect you. And because of that, I'll kill you specialy." He smirked and lurched forward. When Itachi saw Kisame stopped, he knew something was wrong. The moment he saw Kisame lurched forward he too lurched forward. He knew what Kisame was up too.

"No! Stop!," Itachi screamed as he dashed towards Kisame. Kisame ignored him. Aoi turned to look at him. "Itachi?," she blurted, puzzled. When she turned to look at Kisame again, he was already in front of her. She had no chance to dodge or block the blow.

Itachi came to a halt when he saw Kisame sliced Aoi with his sword at her abdomen. Kisame smirked and kept his katana. "My special attack; no blood outside but a lot inside…" He laughed and walked away, leaving Aoi. Aoi was powerless, falling down but Itachi caught her before she fell to the ground.

"Aoi!," he called her. Aoi was still conscious. She smiled at Itachi. "Looks like I lost…" Itachi placed her gently on the ground. He placed his hand on the place Kisame had sliced. Ironically, there were no blood and not even a bruise. Blue chakura emitted from his hand as he tried to heal her wound. "Save your chakura.. You and I know that's useless…," Aoi whispered. She felt so tired and powerless, but no pain at all.

"Itachi.. I want to see him….," Aoi told him. "For the last time…." Itachi nodded. I did what she forbid him to do. He lost his hope when he thought he lost her. He betrayed her trust. He did everything that she told him not to. He broke his promises to her. The least he could do was followed her last wish. He knew he might get into trouble but he didn't care.

"Uchiha Itachi..," Tsunade whispered when she saw him. They were more surprised when they realized he was carrying a woman in his arm. "Oka-chan….," Naruto blurted with wide eyes. The ninja was ready to attack. "Stop! He has Aoi with him," Tsunade commanded. They restrained themselves. Itachi walked through them, walking towards where Tsunade, Jiraiya, Naruto and Sasuke was standing. When he reached in front of them, he placed Aoi gently on the ground while he stayed kneeling by her side.

"Okachan!!!," Naruto screamed as he rushed to Aoi side. Aoi's eyes were closed and her face was pale. "Is she…?," Sasuke asked in disbelief as he knelt next to Naruto. Itachi looked at both Naruto and Sasuke. He can see how much they loved Aoi. "Aoi….," Itachi called as he shook her shoulder gently. Aoi's eyes fluttered and slowly she opened her eyes.

She looked around. "Thanks Itachi… For bringing me back…," Aoi said weakly. She smiled weakly at the young man who used to be her student. Itachi nodded. Aoi turned and looked at Naruto and Sasuke. "Naruto… Sasuke….," she whispered smiling. They both nodded. Tsunade and Jiraiya was standing behind them. Tsunade's eyes were brimming with tears. Jiraiya stared at Itachi. Itachi looked back at him and shook his head. Tears flowed from Tsunade's eyes as she realized Itachi was saying about Aoi's condition.

"I won't live for long…," Aoi whispered to the people who was surrounding him. Naruto and Sasuke tensed when they heard her. "No…," Sasuke mumbled. Naruto was looking intensely at Aoi. "Yes… But it's been fun; spending time with you… Thanks for everything….," Aoi whispered. Naruto failed to hold back his tears. Tears flowed freely down his cheek. "Oka-chan…..," he sobbed.

Aoi lifted her hand and placed it on Naruto's head. She stroke it gently. "I'll go to you father's place… You don't have to worry or feel sad. You just live happily ok?," she comforted him. Naruto nodded as he wiped his eyes carelessly. Aoi pulled her hand and placed it on Sasuke's hand. Sasuke was clenching his hand. "You're like my own son, Sasuke….. I wish we could spend more time together…. Live happily ok?," she squeezed his fist gently. With her squeeze, Sasuke unclenched his hand and squeezed her hand back. Aoi smiled.

Aoi looked up and smiled at Tsunade and Jiraiya. Tsunade was crying while Jiraiya was trying to comfort her. "Please look after them…," she told Jiraiya and Tsunade. Jiraiya nodded with a forced smile. Tsunade nodded but her tears won't stop.

Aoi smiled and looked at Itachi. "Itachi… You know I had high hope in you. I still do. I hope you'll find your way one day….," she told Itachi. Itachi looked at her and nodded. "Yes…sensei…" Aoi smiled when she heard him call her that. "That's it I guess…," she mumbled. Her face frowned and she groaned. "Aoi!!," everyone screamed. Slowly, Aoi took Sasuke's hand and placed it on Naruto's. Then, she placed her hand on top of their hand. "Be good….," she whispered with a smile. Her smile. Still smiling, she closed her eyes and her faced limped to the side.

Tsunade dropped down, kneeling to the ground as she cried her heart out. Jiraiya looked towards the sky, trying to hold back the tears. Naruto hunched down and cried. Sasuke lowered his head and a drop of tear fell to the ground. Itachi closed his eyes and let out a little sigh as he stood up and started to walk out from the Konoha.

One ninja stood in his way, with tear stain. "You killed her!!," he yelled as he pointed towards Itachi. Itachi ignored him and walked passed him. The ninja was about to attack him when Jiraiy shouted. "No! Let him go!." The ninja looked at him, puzzled but he obeyed his order.

"He's just as sad as everyone here… He won't be doing anything for a while…," he murmured.

Aoi's funeral was attended by thousands of people. She was loved by many. She was buried next to her husband. Konoha will forever remember Aoi as Juliet who was buried next to her Romeo. But Naruto and Sasuke will forever remember Aoi as a mother. To Jiraiya and Tsunade, Aoi and her husband were like their own children. Now that they had gone, they will be looking after Naruto and Sasuke too.

A week had passed since Aoi's funeral. Naruto was standing by the river; at the waterfall. He knew that was his parent's favorite place. It had become his favorite place too. "Don't you worry about me, Oka-chan, Otou-chan! Your memories will stay with me forever. And that's all I need to move on….," Naruto whispered to the waterfall. He closed his eyes. Vaguely, he could felt his father and mother; standing by his side, holding his shoulder, smiling at him. Naruto smiled and a tear dropped. "My last tear for you….. After this, you will always see me smiling…."

THE END

So, what do you think? Please tell me what you think..


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